


A Hero's Stand

by KitKatBlackCat



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series, ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Genre: AU-Stone Ocean ended slightly better, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/M, Female Summoner | Eclat | Kiran, Gen, Post-JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6: Stone Ocean, Stand User Kiran
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2020-05-12 01:22:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 75,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19218745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitKatBlackCat/pseuds/KitKatBlackCat
Summary: A Stand. A spirit born from the user's soul, meant to stand by their side and protect them. Kiran has had this power all her life, and her feelings about it have been complicated, to say the least. It's another reason for people to bully her; the nervous, mumbly freak with the imaginary friend. But Dancing Queen has also been her only friend for so long, trying to keep her safe from the world around her. All of that changed the day she was summoned into a war.Things are about to get... bizarre.





	1. The Summoner's Gift

**Author's Note:**

> Kiran's personality here is mostly based on mine. I'm painfully shy when meeting new people, and can be scarily quiet at times. There have been times where I walked into a room because I needed to talk to someone, didn't say anything because I was too shy, and ended up startling them when they finally noticed I was there. I also try to be as polite as possible, I apologize a lot, and it's extremely difficult for me to maintain eye contact. I talk to myself to practice what I want to say before I say it, and get embarrassed when caught in the act. When I'm more used to a person or I'm particularly frustrated or excited about something, I just can't shut up, and I let some more vulgar terminology and sarcasm slip. Also, I can overcome my shyness temporarily if there's a bigger problem to deal with.

To say she was confused was an understatement. To be fair, getting dragged to another world by some kind of summoning ritual and being called a Great Hero would be confusing to anyone in her situation. At least, Kiran liked to think that. Her life hadn't really been normal to begin with, but this was a bit of a stretch. Bullies in the streets were nothing compared to being attacked by soldiers from an enemy empire. And this woman (Anna, was it?) was dumping a lot of information on her head that was far too quick for her to process.

And now they were being attacked again! This day just kept getting more and more bizarre. "You run while I hold them off! Take Breidablik and run, Kiran!" Anna shouted, ready to fight. Well, she'd take the weapon any day, but there was no way she was running. She'd feel dirty just leaving Anna behind like that. Well, that and she had no idea where she would run if she did. The second she grabbed it, though, it started to shine. "What's that?! That bright light, coming from..."

Instinct took over. Kiran had never held a gun before, but she'd seen enough movies to know the basics: point it at whatever you were intending to kill and squeeze the trigger. "Please work," she whimpered, firing. A bright flash of silver light nearly blinded the two women, and Kiran nearly dropped Breidablik in surprise. When it finally died down, someone else had joined them. "Uh... what just happened?" she asked, staring at the newcomer.

"I was just going to ask you that!" he snapped, equally startled.

"How'd you do that?! You just summoned a Hero, Kiran!" Anna gasped, looking between the two. "You just picked up Breidablik and you're already able to use it!"

"Well, it looks like a weapon from my homeland," she answered shyly. "I just went on instinct. But I think we've got bigger problems right now." She turned to face the enemy soldiers, her long silver braid swishing behind her.

"You're right; there's no time to chat. We need to get to fighting... uh, sorry, I didn't get your name," Anna laughed sheepishly.

"Takumi, Second Prince of Hoshido," he answered. "I have a lot of questions, but I guess we can go over the details later, when we're not about to be killed."

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Kiran activated her ability. A figure appeared behind her, shimmering like a mirage. It was humanoid, with a slender, pure white body like a mannequin. A pure white snake, about the length of a python, was curled around its shoulders, hissing in agitation. But the most distinctive feature of the two was their lack of eyes. Kiran let the snake slither over to her across her shoulders and held her left arm up to the sky. It slithered up in a spiral, as if climbing an invisible tree. When it was high enough in the air, it curled up into a circle like a halo, tight enough that it could have bitten its own tail. Red eyes with slitted, snake-like pupils began to appear across its body, searching the battlefield.

"Okay, there are just two enemies ahead. An archer on foot and an axe wielder on a pegasus. You should be able to shoot that one right out of the sky without too much trouble, right, your highness?" she asked.

\--------------------------------------------

The battle was short and barely even a fight. The snake took another look around from up above, but could see no more enemies approaching. "Okay, we should be safe for now," Kiran reported, calling it back down. It curled around her shoulders like a scarf, the eyes vanishing. The figure behind her gave her a quick hug, clearly happy that things had gone so well. "That was amazing, though. Today's just full of surprises, isn't it?"

"You're telling me! Not only did I manage to summon the Great Hero who's supposed to save our kingdom, she summons a Hero without even trying!" Anna cheered, still surprised.

"Right; you two were going to start explaining that- WHAT IS THAT THING?!" Takumi yelped, drawing his bow. To Kiran's shock, he was looking past her, at the spot just above her shoulders. Startled, the being hid behind her, making itself as small as possible, while the snake curled tighter and hissed in warning.

"You can see her?!" Kiran gasped, her blue eyes wide with shock. "No one's ever been able to see her before!"

"Wait, what are you two talking about?" Anna asked. "I don't see anything."

"See what I mean? Normally, I'm the only one who can see her. So, you being able to do that is... extremely surprising," she said. "This is a spirit born from my own life force. She moves by my will and thoughts, and protects me if I need it. This is a really rare ability, even back in my own world. And only people who have that ability can see her." The figure relaxed, seeming a little braver, and floated out of Kiran's shadow. Takumi lowered his bow, taking an interest in what she had to say.

"I did some research when I was younger to learn a bit more about it. Apparently, people call this power a 'Stand' because it's always standing at your side. Kind of a dumb name if you ask me," she shrugged. "Anyway, every Stand has a different ability depending on what kind of person has it. I've been using my Stand, 'Dancing Queen', to get an aerial view of the battlefield and take stock of the enemy. That's how I knew how many enemies there were, what weapons they had, and where they were. And since they can't see her, I don't lose the element of surprise," she explained.

"So, not only can you summon Heroes, you have a tactical advantage that the enemy won't be able to stop!" Anna realized. "Breidablik clearly brought us the right person for the job!" Kiran blushed at the praise. Dancing Queen turned away slightly to try and hide her own blush, while the snake tucked itself under her collar.

"How far can you see?" Takumi asked.

"I don't have an exact measurement, but my scout, 'Arrival', can move 25 meters away from me. How far I can see from there depends on what's in the way," she answered.

"Definitely impressive," he admitted. She blushed even redder, happy at the praise.

\--------------------------------------------

"Commander Anna! You're alright!" Kiran unconsciously tensed at the sound of a new arrival. Even though he seemed to know Anna, which meant he was most likely safe, the fact that he'd just appeared out of nowhere startled her. The snake gently hissed in her ear, encouraging her to calm down. Taking a few deep breaths, she turned to face him. The first thought that ran through her mind was 'Oh my God, he's handsome!' He looked to be about her age, with blue eyes and blue hair tipped with blond at the ends. "Wait, who are these with you? Could this be...?" He looked right at her, making her duck slightly. How she wished she had one of her hoodies right about now! She'd gone with a plain red sweater that day because she hadn't expected needing to talk to people!

"It is, Prince Alfonse! The legend is true. I raised Breidablik, and Kiran appeared!" Anna reported. "Our Great Hero is here, and she can use the Divine Weapon, too! She can even spy for enemies from a distance! As for what Breidablik shoots? It's truly wonderful! It fires Heroes right out of it!"

"So that's how I ended up here?" Takumi asked. Anna nodded.

"Sorry for the inconvenience," Kiran mumbled, bowing slightly.

"Don't worry about it. I wasn't doing anything important, anyway," he assured.

"Unbelievable. So you're our Great Hero, come to us from another world. Kiran, was it?" Alfonse asked, looking her over. "I am Alfonse, prince of Askr and member of the Order of Heroes. A pleasure to meet you."

Kiran blushed, her eyes darting all over the place. "Yes... um... it's nice to... I mean... uh... it's a pleasure to meet you too, your highness," she mumbled shyly. "Sorry, I'm just... not good with talking to strangers. Especially... strangers with authority."

"You were talking just fine earlier," Takumi pointed out.

"That's because we were being attacked. I didn't have time to be shy," she answered, slightly calmer. "And now I'm more used to you, so I don't need to be nervous around you anymore."

"Then I hope you'll accept my apologies for making you feel uncomfortable," Alfonse said.

"No, no, it's not your fault, really!" she protested. "I'm sorry for being rude."

"There's no need to apologize for that. I didn't think you were being rude in the slightest." Kiran calmed down slightly at that, but still couldn't bring herself to look up. "I'm sorry to ask this of you so soon after we've met, but I have need of your help."

"Yeah... um... Anna mentioned something like that. Something about... an invasion?" she asked.

"Correct. Our Order is devoted to fighting the Emblian Empire, which invades the worlds where Heroes are from," he answered. "One of these is the World of Mystery. I have dire news. The empire has newly taken over that world. We need to make our way to the World of Mystery to free it! Would you be able to help us with this task?"

"Of course," she answered, bowing quickly. "That's the reason I'm here."

"I'm glad to hear it. And, Commander Anna, there's one more thing," he reported. "I spotted someone odd with the soldiers near here. A strange man. Not an imperial soldier. Nor a Hero from the World of Mystery now under their control."

"A strange man, you say? Did he seem allied with the Emblian Empire?" Anna asked.

"I don't know," he told her. "I've never seen him before. He wears a mask and keeps his face a secret even from them."

"Damn," Kiran muttered under her breath. "I'm out of luck there."

Takumi looked over at her. "Did you say something?" he asked.

"Just... talking to myself; I do that when I'm stressed," she admitted, blushing. "It helps my nervousness if I rehearse what I want to say before I say it. I know, it's weird."

"If it helps, it helps. I don't have a right to criticize," he shrugged. She sighed in relief.

Loud footsteps and the clanging of armor got everyone's attention. "We must rush into battle! Soldiers approach!" Alfonse warned.

Kiran sent the snake back up above the battlefield to watch. "As I thought," she mumbled. "He can't see her, either." She filed that away as something to think about later. "Okay, we've got three targets and three of us who can fight. Seems pretty even. One guy with an axe, one with a lance, and one with a bow. All of them are on foot," she reported.

"Keep the weapon triangle in mind, Kiran," Alfonse warned. "Swords beat axes, axes beat lances, lances beat swords, and bows are neutral unless your opponent is a flier."

"Got it. Anna, the lance target is to the north! Alfonse, the axe target is to the south! Takumi, head east and keep that bowman off our asses!"

\--------------------------------------------

"So what Commander Anna said was true; you can see the battlefield ahead of the rest of us," Alfonse noted after everything had calmed down.

"It's a gift," she said simply, trying not to give too much away. She could feel that someone was watching her, so she hadn't called Dancing Queen back yet. Both bodies were covered with eyes and on the lookout, trying to find this extra person. Dancing Queen silently pointed southeast, so Kiran discretely pointed in that direction to warn Alfonse. Puzzled, he turned to look, noticing the same masked man he had reported seeing earlier. The man hadn't attacked; he was simply quietly observing them from atop his horse.

"Who are you, stranger?" Anna questioned. "Alfonse, this must be the masked man you saw!"

"No shit," Kiran snarked quietly, startling a chuckle out of Takumi.

"You! Tell us - are you a soldier in the Emblian Empire? If so, then you stand on the side of evil," Alfonse warned. "The empire shouldn't be entering the worlds of Heroes - let alone conquering them!"

"Oh, really?" the masked man started, unimpressed. "And I suppose you want us to close the gateways, too? Humph. In your dreams."

"Figures," Kiran grumbled as he turned to leave. "It's never that easy."

"How dare you! Where are you going? Get back here and answer for yourself!" Alfonse demanded. "Damn fellow. He's gone."

"Did you really think he was going to listen to you?" Kiran asked.

"Not really, but I thought that it was worth attempting," he admitted.

"Kiran, those gateways he mentioned, they connect our world to all those where Heroes live," Anna explained. "The royalty of the Askran Kingdom, like Alfonse, have the ability to open these gateways."

"And the royalty of the Emblian Empire are able to close the gateways," Alfonse continued. "Long ago, our two families worked in harmony to open and close these ways to other worlds. But then Embla began using its power for evil, leaving all of the gates open. The empire began invading those worlds. We cannot slam the gates shut. Only they can."

"We can fight them, however," Anna took over. "That's why we Askrans formed the Order of Heroes - to stop the Emblians."

"Okay, I get it. So, if these gates lead to the worlds of other Heroes, and Breidablik summons them from those worlds, does Breidablik open those gateways, too?" Kiran asked.

"Somewhat. The gates that Breidablik opens are much smaller and close on their own. They won't cause any problems for us," Anna assured. "Now, let's hurry to the World of Mystery! Alfonse... your sister has been on a scouting mission. I fear that she may be in danger."

"What?!" Alfonse gasped. "We need to hurry!"

"Got it!" With Dancing Queen watching her back, her allies at her side, and Arrival curled around her neck for comfort, Kiran and her new friends raced off to the next world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stand Name: Dancing Queen (Arrival)  
> Music Reference: Dancing Queen by ABBA (from the album Arrival)  
> Stand Master: Kiran
> 
> Stats: Main Body (Arrival)  
> Destructive Power: D (E)  
> Speed: C (B)  
> Range: D, 2 meters (B, 25 meters)  
> Durability: D (E)  
> Precision: B (B)  
> Developmental Potential: B
> 
> Stand Ability:  
> 1\. Scout: Dancing Queen possesses two bodies; one humanoid (Dancing Queen), and one snake scout (Arrival). Each of these bodies can create a maximum of 100 eyes across them. However, if any of the eyes are damaged by an attack, Kiran's eyes will be damaged as well, so the more she makes, the easier a target she becomes. She can see through these eyes in order to spy on distant targets or look in many different directions. It's hard to process information coming from many eyes at once, so too many eyes can make it difficult for her to keep track of what she's looking at. Closing her own eyes helps her to focus somewhat.  
> 2\. ?  
> Kiran has not gotten into any proper fights yet. As such, Dancing Queen's combat ability is not yet known at this point in time. There was a hint to it in this chapter.


	2. Prince and Princess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry; you won't have to put up with my poor attempts at writing fight scenes for much longer.

"So, this is the World of Mystery?" Kiran asked. It didn't look all that different from the place they had left behind, but maybe all of these worlds just looked really similar to someone who wasn't used to them. She and Alfonse were at the rear of their formation, with Dancing Queen watching in case someone tried to sneak up on them, while Takumi and Anna were watching the front.

"Yes. My sister, Sharena, shouldn't be too far. Let's hope she's alright," Alfonse answered, still looking restless.

"So... uh... What's she like?" she asked. She needed to be prepared to meet a new person and to practice talking to him if she was going to work with him, and maybe talking about this would get Alfonse's mind off of worrying.

"She's... exuberant," he started, and her heart sank. An easily excited person was the last thing she needed. "She knows how to be professional when it counts, but she can be quite silly when she's off-duty." He seemed to notice how uncomfortable she was and smiled gently. "Don't worry; I'll talk to her. If she makes you uncomfortable, just speak up and she'll stop."

 _That's the problem; I **can't**_ , Kiran thought to herself. The idea of telling someone off when she was uncomfortable... it made her cringe just thinking about it. She was perfectly fine with telling people off when she had experience with the person or if she was yelling at some racist asshole over the Internet. But if she was too nervous, then she wouldn't be able to speak up, even if it would fix her situation. It wasn't like she could explain that to him, either. She had only been able to confess her bad habit of talking to herself to Takumi because she had been caught in the act, and this was a prince she barely knew. She just kept her head down, stayed silent, and took a few deep breaths to try and calm down.

"So... that power of yours... it's called a Stand, right?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered. "I was born with it, as far as I know. At the very least, she's been there for as long as I can remember. When I was little, everyone just thought that I had a vivid imagination. Having an imaginary friend is fine when you're a kid, but when you're older... people don't look too kindly on that. They think that you're crazy. I'd never met anyone else who could see her. Honestly, if she hadn't protected me, I would've believed everyone when they told me that I was crazy." She was clearly starting to get used to him; she was already rambling.

"Protected you?"

"Well... you see.. things that make you different aren't exactly accepted in society back home. They make you a target. People at school isolated me and attacked me for daring to stick out, and it's not like my teachers would do anything to stop them," she sighed bitterly. "Dancing Queen would watch for bullies and help me find routes to avoid them or escape. Funny how the source of my misery did what it could to make things better."

"You shouldn't have had to go through that," Alfonse insisted, his fist clenched.

"It's fine; I'm used to it," she mumbled. This was honestly the first person she'd talked to who hadn't insisted that she was just being dramatic. Even her own parents, as much as they tried to help, had never understood. What was she supposed to do with that?

\--------------------------------------------

"Commander Anna! Brother! What has taken you so long to get to the World of Mystery?" So this was Sharena. She didn't look too much like Alfonse, with her long blonde hair and pretty green eyes. As she looked them over, Kiran took note of the fact that she couldn't see Dancing Queen either. Was Takumi being able to do this just a fluke?

"Sorry, Sharena. We had to battle our way here," Alfonse apologized.

She then noticed Kiran, who tensed up upon feeling eyes on her, and Takumi. "Who are these with you? Oh my! You're holding the divine relic... and it's all aglow!" she gasped. "Are you... the Great Hero? Our group has hoped beyond hope that you might come to save us!"

"I guess... I mean, I showed up and all..." Kiran mumbled, looking down.

"Please, calm yourself, Sharena," Alfonse scolded, noticing the summoner's discomfort. "This is Kiran. As it turns out, the Great Hero is a talented tactician as well. We're already in good hands."

Kiran blushed, trying to pull her collar up a bit more. It was no hood, but it would do. "Well, I don't know about that..." she mumbled. "There were so few of them, and it was easy to go for the weak points."

"But... that's amazing. And, Great Hero, you're as great as I imagined. I'm going to be your number-one fan," Sharena encouraged. Kiran just blushed even redder and tried to look away. She wasn't used to this much praise. "Oh! My manners have gone right out the window. I'm Sharena, Alfonse's darling little sister."

"Alright, alright..." Alfonse interrupted, also looking embarrassed. "Just tell us, what's the situation here?"

"Simply put? Absolutely dreadful," she reported. "The empire has taken control of a Hero from the World of Mystery. She swoops through the skies, a fearsome figure, all in red."

"A red flier from Mystery? It sounds like Princess Minerva," Alfonse mused. "This battle will be tough. It's a good thing we have an archer, at least."

The archer in question tensed up, his bow already drawn. "She's already on her way, and she's not alone," Takumi warned. "I hear wings."

Kiran sent her Stand up for a better look. "Crap, he's right. Three fliers incoming! Two on pegasi and one on a... I think that's a wyvern," she called. She would have been surprised about the wyvern, but honestly, she'd already seen a pegasus, so not much else would surprise her about these worlds at this point. "One's got an axe, one has a sword, and one has a spear." They were at a disadvantage on this terrain; the rocky terrain to the east and south would hinder their possible pathways, while the enemy could just fly over them. There was also a wall blocking their path, but at least that looked high enough that they couldn't get over it either.

"The one on the wyvern would be Princess Minerva. The others must be the Whitewings; the one with the sword is Palla. What color hair does the other one have?" Sharena asked, not even questioning how Kiran could see them.

"Blue; why?"

"That's Catria. Looks like Est, the little sister, isn't getting involved. Good thing, too. They could pull off a Triangle Attack if all of them were together, and that would be particularly bad for us," she answered.

"There's someone else on the ground too. Let's see... red hair and a staff," Kiran reported, making note of anything that seemed important.

"That would be Princess Maria, her little sister. That staff is used for healing wounds," Anna informed.

The fliers came to a sudden stop, eyeing their group carefully. "Begone, outsiders!" their leader warned. "I am Minerva, princess of Macedon! Now, I'll warn you once - return to your world. I am bound to serve the Emblian Empire, and the imperial princess, Veronica, has given me an order. She has commanded that I attack a kingdom near her empire. I have no time for the likes of you."

Ever the diplomat, Alfonse tried the reasonable approach first. "Princess Minerva, please hear me out," he pled. "My name is Prince Alfonse, of the very kingdom you plan to attack. I beg you, put down your weapons. We of Askr have no desire to battle you noble Heroes."

"I am under contract to obey Princess Veronica," she insisted. "There is only one way to release me. Prove you are stronger."

"Must we resolve this with a battle, Princess Minerva?" he asked.

"Prince Alfonse!" Anna scolded. "She has named her terms. We must fight - and win! Everyone, prepare for battle!"

"We accept your terms!" Kiran shouted, Dancing Queen and Arrival's eyes opening and carefully watching.

"We can destroy some walls, Kiran," Alfonse informed. "See how they have cracks in them? A few strikes should knock them down and allow us to pass."

"Right. But we can't be careless about this. If we rush in without proper preparation, we'll get bottle-necked. Not to mention that they have a way to heal their wounds, so we need to take them out before they get the chance to heal. Let's see..." Kiran mused, looking over the field. "If we can break one wall and leave the other one intact, we have a way to bottle-neck them instead. The passage will be too narrow for more than one of them to pass; they'd have to take time to break the wall in order to get at us. Whoever gets through will get attacked by someone in the vanguard position, while Takumi waits behind them and picks them off with a second strike. Stay close; they've all got different weapons, so we'll need to swap depending on who shows up first. How many hits to break that wall?"

"I think two should do it," Alfonse reported, looking over the crumbling wall.

"Okay, great. You and Takumi break it. I'll watch and see who approaches first," she decided. Just as Alfonse had predicted, one swing of his sword and one wind arrow was enough to break the chunk of wall, leaving enough space for someone to poke through. Kiran watched as the enemy made their move. "Okay, it looks like Catria is in the lead. Anna, you take vanguard. Takumi, get ready to fire." Just as the Whitewing thrust her spear through the gap, bouncing off Anna's armor and making her hiss, the commander landed a fierce swing, throwing her off-balance. Takumi took that opportunity to shoot, knocking her to the ground.

"Perfect! Sharena, you're up next! Palla's coming!" Anna gratefully limped back to the rear, giving Sharena a chance to jump into her vacated position. A slice caught her chestplate, but she stabbed straight through with her spear, allowing another clean shot to get through.

"Alfonse, you're up! The princesses are on their way! Minerva's in the front, and Maria's off to the side, ready to heal!" Kiran seemed to be thinking, Arrival circling and shifting in the sky above, her hands flapping as she went over the idea in her head. "Anna, Sharena, can you two break the other wall? Now that it's down to just those two, I think we can pull off a sneak attack and finish them both in one go."

"Don't you think they'll notice if the other wall starts to come down?" Alfonse asked.

"Leave that to me; I have a secret weapon," she assured.

"If you're sure, then that could work!" Anna agreed. "Princess, help me out with this!"

"Okay!" Taking a deep breath and praying that it would work, Kiran prepared to set off her Stand's ability. She'd rarely used it before, as she'd almost never had a need for it, but right now, she needed a distraction. Arrival slithered lower, red eyes glowing as it looked right at the enemies. She knew what she had to do; hide the cracks in the wall so that no one noticed that they were breaking through. Alfonse was already striking back at Minerva, with Takumi lined up for a third bulls-eye. On cue, the other wall broke, sending Anna and Sharena straight into their other target. Both down for the count, as predicted.

Kiran sighed in relief; who knew that ability could come in handy? It might even be helpful later on. Still, she'd have to be careful. Overuse of an ability like that would allow her opponents a chance to figure out what exactly she was doing. The fewer people who knew what she could do, the better. "It's over," she stated, recalling her Stand. "We won this round."

"Well done," Minerva congratulated, helping Maria to her feet so she could start healing them. "You have proved strong enough to break our contract with Veronica. And so, I give you my oath that we will not attack your kingdom. Farewell." With that, they took to the skies, a little roughed up, but free to do as they pleased.

"That completes this mission, Kiran," said Alfonse.

"You're such an excellent tactician!" Sharena praised. "Why, I think I'm going to be very fond of you!"

Kiran blushed and pulled her collar up. "It wasn't much," she mumbled. "I just remembered a few tricks I learned in history class."

"Like that bottle-necking tactic? That was well thought out," Takumi admitted.

"That was from the Battle of Thermopylae," she said. "A comparatively small army had to fight against an army of over 100,000 men. They did this by forcing the larger army to come through a tight pass. They held out for two whole days. Unfortunately, near the end of the second day, a traitor showed them a way around. The majority of the smaller army retreated to evacuate civilians and regroup, with some staying behind to stall for time. They bravely fought to the last man, buying enough time for their fellows to manage a counter-attack that chased the invaders off for good."

"Everyone, listen up," Anna warned. "I've just gotten a report that Emblian soldiers are advancing on our kingdom!"

"What?" Alfonse gasped. "Then, all of this here-?"

"It was just a diversion. We've left our kingdom open to attack," Sharena realized.

"Well, that's a SNAFU if I ever saw one," Kiran sighed.

"I'm sorry; what was that?" Alfonse asked, confused.

"Military term from my home; Situation Normal: All Fouled Up. It basically means the worst case scenario," she explained.

"What's done is done," Anna said. "Now, let's make haste. Back to Askr!"

\--------------------------------------------

"Scurry, scurry, little Heroes... Steal for me. Spread destruction. Kill all those who stand in your way. This kingdom must fall. Once it's gone, no one will oppose me. Every Hero in every world - they'll all be mine. Every last one." So, that creepy little girl was Princess Veronica? Kiran was reminded of some of her old neighbors. She'd planted a tree sapling that her dad had bought for her in the front yard and had painstakingly taken care of it. One day, the brats came over and got the idea to hit it with sticks, breaking off the branches. It didn't survive for long after that.

"We won't allow it, Princess Veronica. And I will personally never forget this violation of my kingdom!" Alfonse snapped.

"Oh, it's you," she sighed, unamused. "And after I went through all that trouble to arrange your playdate. Now, who are you, stranger?" Kiran flinched, not ready to have attention on her yet. Veronica looked straight at Breidablik, which Kiran was clutching like a lifeline. "You have that silly relic. Then you must be the legendary summoner. No matter. It simply means that you must be the first to die. Oh, Xander!"

Kiran froze under the gaze of the blond knight who approached her. "You wish this one slain, Princess Veronica? As you wish."

Alfonse quickly pulled her behind him and blocked his sword swing with one of his own. "No! She has Xander, one of the most powerful Heroes from the World of Conquest," he hissed.

"The crown prince of Nohr? This is bad," Takumi growled, readying his bow. "Ryoma warned me to run if I ever ran into this guy."

"Well, running isn't an option this time around," Anna pointed out.

Sharena noticed Kiran shivering and moved in a bit closer. "Don't worry," she assured. "We'll protect you, Kiran."

"Thanks..." she breathed, still shaking.

"Get ready, everyone," Anna ordered. "Let's show this rotten princess what the Order of Heroes can really do!"

Kiran called Dancing Queen and got into position. Veronica was too far back; likely, she did not intend to step in and fight herself. "There's an archer at the front. We'll have to worry about him first. There's an infantry unit with a sword, a healer on a horse, and Xander. He'll likely be the big problem here," she stated, taking stock of the walls around them. "They only have one path to get to us, but we don't really have anywhere we can retreat, either. We need to be careful."

"Now might be a good time to bring up Assist Skills," Sharena started. "I can use one to make someone's next attack stronger."

"Hmm... if I can time that with Alfonse or Anna's charged attacks, that could do some serious damage. For now, can you rally Takumi? We need to get that archer out of here, and it would be best to send in someone who can fight back," Kiran decided. "Anna and Alfonse, stay close behind in case we need someone to move in and finish the target."

The first arrow bounced off of Takumi's arm guard, but it didn't hinder his shot. Sharena leapt in to finish him off, but Xander pulled her target out of the way for the healer to fix his wounds. Kiran grimaced; she needed to finish this quickly before she was forced to use her Stand to turn the tables. "Takumi, get back! Alphonse, Sharena, I need you to intercept Xander! Block the path so he can't get past!" The two braced, and Xander took a swing at Alfonse, striking him right across the chestplate. Crying out, he struck back, knocking Xander slightly off balance. "Now! All in!" Sharena aimed a thrust at his horse's legs, while Takumi aimed for his side. The combined impacts threw him to the ground, leaving him dazed.

"Perfect! With him down, the rest should be a cakewalk!" Kiran shouted gleefully. "The archer's close enough to stab now! Sharena, give Alfonse a boost! Alfonse, you're charged up, right? Get over there and knock him down!"

\--------------------------------------------

With Xander out of the picture, the rest of the fight was as smooth as silk. Kiran grinned, happy that things had gone so well. Veronica didn't look too upset with what had just happened. "Left all alone. Again? How dull," she sighed. "I'll go console myself back home with a cup of tea. But first..." Before anyone could even blink, she pulled out a tome and cast a wind spell. Dancing Queen took the hit, but the force behind it still threw her back and knocked the air right out of her. She tumbled down the hill and, of course, she landed right in a mud puddle. How had that even gotten there?

"Are you alright, Kiran?" Alfonse asked, rushing to help her up.

Kiran coughed, struggling not to cry in shame. "I'm fine," she panted. "Nothing really hurt but my pride."

"That foolish princess is retreating with her Heroes," Anna informed.

"The battle's won, but this didn't resolve a thing," Alfonse sighed. "The empire will invade again soon enough."

"Stubborn girl," Sharena sighed. "Why can't we just talk through this? These invasions are crazy. Honestly, that Veronica needs to grow up, already. Where's her sense of diplomacy? Such a brat!"

"Sharena, don't let your emotions get the best of you - not on duty," Anna scolded. "I expect you to keep a level head if you're going to serve in this order. Hostility is their way, not ours."

"Sure, sure..." she started, wilting under the commander's glare. "I mean, of course, Commander Anna."

"I'm sorry that you've been thrown into this brutal war with us, Kiran," Alfonse apologized, helping the summoner steady herself. "But I'm glad you're here - an official member of the Order of Heroes!"

Shaking, she finally managed a smile, though her tears still pricked at her eyes. "Thank you," she said sincerely. It was nice to finally feel like she belonged somewhere. She looked down at her ruined clothes and sighed. "But what am I going to do about this?"

"Oh, I can get you an Order of Heroes uniform! A Great Hero needs to look the part, after all!" Anna decided. "Any specifications you want?"

"Well, there is one thing..." she mumbled. "Can I... can I have a hood? I feel more comfortable when I can cover up my face."

"Of course; no trouble at all! I'll go ahead and get it ready, and I'll meet you back at the castle. Sharena, can you help her get cleaned up? And Alfonse, could you bring Prince Takumi back to the castle and get his living arrangements set up? Introduce him to the other Heroes after that."


	3. Finding Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't get used to this update schedule; I've just gotten a lot of inspiration this week.

"So, how is it?" Anna asked.

Kiran looked herself over carefully. The white and gold looked great on her. And the hood on the cloak was just perfect for covering her face and boosting her confidence. Kiran felt an instant wave of comfort upon pulling the hood over her head. Social anxiety was not fun, but as long as she didn't have to make eye contact or talk too much, she'd be fine. "It's perfect," she replied. "Thank you so much."

"No problem! Think of it as me paying you back for helping us out earlier. Alright, next on the agenda is a quick tour of the castle and introducing you to the other Heroes here," Anna told her.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that; how did you get other Heroes here if you can't summon?" she asked.

"It wasn't easy, let me tell you that much. No one here could get Breidablik to work unless we hit it a few times and it choked open a tiny portal if it felt like it. We've been at war for a long time, and we only managed to get three. Having you around will make things so much easier!" Anna took her hand gently and headed out. "Now, let's get to business."

\--------------------------------------------

"You'll probably be making the most of this library. Most of it is off-limits to everyone, but as the summoner, you get a special pass," Anna explained. "It has information on every single Hero out there; helpful for if you need to get a basic idea on where they're from, what they've been through, and what ended up happening to them."

"Oh, I'll definitely be living in there for a while. Knowledge is power," she conceded.

"The Mess Hall is here if you're hungry. I'm sure Prince Alfonse and Princess Sharena would be thrilled to see you come down for dinner with them, but they'd understand if you didn't," Anna told her.

"Yeah, I'm much more comfortable eating alone," Kiran admitted. "Sitting down for dinner with a group always means either awkward silence, poor attempts at conversation, or very loud conversations where I get drowned out."

"Don't you ever get lonely?" Anna asked.

"Not really. Being alone and being lonely are two different things," she explained. "If I feel lonely, I look for ways to connect with someone. But sometimes, being alone is what's best for me."

"Well, you'll never have to worry about being lonely here, at least. Oh! Just as I was thinking about looking for them to introduce you!" Kiran flinched a bit at the sound of hurried footsteps. They really must have been in a rush.

Takumi slipped through the doors first, panting. "Hah! I win!" he cheered.

"Oh, did you?" a smug voice teased. "The way I see it, I got here long before you did." This guy just seemed to melt out of the shadows, grinning mischievously.

"Let that be a valuable lesson to you, Prince Takumi." The man who followed right behind Takumi didn't even seem out of breath. "Never challenge Matthew to anything. He can't win fairly, so he always cheats."

"And you couldn't... have warned me... about that sooner... Virion?!" he complained.

"And miss out on the entertainment? I think not," Virion laughed. "I learned my lesson about making bets with Matthew long ago. Nowadays, it's the first thing every new Hero ends up learning on the job."

"Can we get to the important part, please?" the last of them grumbled, looking very annoyed. A child? Well, he wouldn't be here if he wasn't capable, right? "You said that you met the summoner and helped her get here. So, aren't you going to introduce us?"

"When I see her, I'll let you know, Raigh," Takumi panted, still getting his breath back. He then spotted Kiran lingering near the back door, still nervous. "Hey, Kiran! Just the person I was looking for!" he greeted. "Come over here! I'll introduce you."

With a little nudge from Anna, Kiran made her way over to the group, head down and looking at her feet. What would she say? Meeting new people was always so stressful! But she was going to have to get used to it if she was going to be a summoner. She took her deep breaths to calm herself and forced her leaden feet to move forward. This was a perfect opportunity for her to test a theory that had been bothering her for a while, and she couldn't let this get away.

"Kiran, these guys are the Heroes that got summoned here before us," he started.

"The name's Matthew. I'm in the service of the young master - I mean, milord - Hector. Good to meet you," he greeted, ignoring his little stumble.

"I am Virion, the finest archer of the fairest of realms. Delighted to be of service." She could see Takumi rolling his eyes and had to stifle a giggle.

"I am trying to learn the deepest secrets of the dark arts. But if you must know... the name's Raigh." He seemed a bit young for that, but Kiran feared that he would get angry if she brought that up.

"It's a pleasure. My name's Kiran. Ah, wait, you already knew that..." she mumbled, already getting embarrassed. Well, how was she going to approach her question? Starting conversations was not her strong suit. At least her face was covered up. She wouldn't even be able to get a word out if that wasn't the case.

Luckily for her, Takumi was already aware of her extreme shyness with strangers and could cover for her. "It turns out almost all of us are from different worlds. Matthew and Raigh come from the same one, but they're from two different times; about 20 years apart."

"So, time is also a factor? Interesting... I wonder if I could summon two of the same person from two different points in time," she murmured thoughtfully. "That'd get confusing, but I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Is that an expression from your world?" Matthew asked. "Prince Takumi mentioned that you've got a few of those."

"Oh, uh, yes. It basically means that there's no point in worrying about a hypothetical situation that might not even happen," she explained. "If that situation does come up, you can deal with it then. In this case, I don't even know if it's possible to summon two of the same person from different times, so there's no point in worrying about it until I can confirm that I can. Being prepared is important, but unnecessary worry just stresses you out and can make you sick."

"You certainly seem stressed enough already," Virion noted.

"Exactly! Life is naturally stressful. Reducing it whenever possible helps you to live a longer life," she finished.

"You had a little extra help, at least, right?" Takumi stated. There! This was the point where she could jump in with the question! _Thanks, Takumi!_

"Yes. Incidentally, I have a bit of a... bizarre question, regarding that," she started, feeling her nerves start to prickle. _Come on, Kiran. There's no going back now. You've already started talking; if you back out now, they'll just think that you're weird!_ "Um... can any of you... see this?" she asked tentatively. Cautiously, she made Dancing Queen's left arm appear. Instantly, everyone except Takumi jumped back, startled.

"I take it that's a 'yes'," he chuckled. He was probably happy to get back at Virion and Matthew for the hazing earlier.

"What was that?!" Raigh demanded, pointing right at it.

"So, based on this response, it looks like summoned Heroes can see her, but other people can't," she said to herself, thinking it over. "Well, summoning establishes a contract with me, and it would be awkward if I couldn't see my own Stand... then again, I didn't summon them... maybe Breidablik made the connection automatically?"

"Hey! I asked you a question!"

"Oh, sorry! I just got a little wrapped up. I don't know if Takumi mentioned this already, but I have this... I guess the closest comparison I can make is a 'guardian spirit'," she started.

"Oh, so this is the 'Stand' thing he mentioned?" Matthew asked curiously.

"Yes; this is Dancing Queen." The rest of her materialized, hiding behind Kiran and peeking out shyly. "And this is Arrival." Arrival took her place around Kiran's neck, carefully watching the group. "I can spy on people from a distance and watch my back to see if anyone's following me." Dancing Queen demonstrated by making an eye appear on the back of her hand, looking towards the rear door. Anna had taken off; probably had some important Order duties to take care of.

"My, she's certainly beautiful," Virion complimented. Dancing Queen blushed and turned away, fidgeting, while Arrival tucked her head into her coils.

"Thanks; no one's ever said that to me before," Kiran thanked happily. "These past few days have been so surprising; I'd never met another Stand user back in my world, so no one could see her at all."

"So, how did you get this ability?" Raigh asked, looking her up and down.

"I'm pretty sure I was just born with it. As far as I know, there are only two ways to get one, and one of them is exceedingly lethal," she warned. She did not like that look in his eyes; she had a feeling that if he ever learned more about the alternate method to getting one, he'd go for it, no matter the risks. "I'm talking horrible, painful death here."

"So," Matthew asked, quickly changing the subject. "Prince Takumi also mentioned that you said different people get different abilities?"

"Yes; it depends on the person themselves. The Stand that a person gets gives them an ability that's best suited to their personalities. That's why there's no such thing as a strong Stand or a weak Stand; it all depends on how someone uses them," she explained. "Mine is best suited to how I work, but it wouldn't exactly be helpful for someone who decides to punch first and ask questions later."

"You know quite a bit for someone who's never met someone else with a Stand," Raigh noted.

"There's this organization back home that keeps tabs on Stand users. They started keeping records after an incident where people were using Stands for their serial killing sprees. They keep track of everything; who they are, where they're from, and their Stand ability. They also provide resources for people who have Stands and want to find out more about their abilities. The only information on other users available to the general public, me included, was the information on the ones who were already dead or retired after getting the crap kicked out of them," she told him. "Stand users get a lot of their power from being anonymous. If someone figures out your ability and how to counter it, you're pretty much dead. Even I'm keeping the full extent of my power a secret because of this. No offence meant; I'm just being careful."

"No offence taken; that's a good way to handle something like that," Matthew encouraged.

"Okay, great," she sighed, relieved. "So, from what I've seen, there's a wide variety of abilities. Shrinking things, making things explode, forcing someone to say the opposite of what they mean, making people older, making people younger, turning the ground to liquid, stealing souls by beating someone in a game, making people float by spitting on them, a possessed sword that selectively cuts things, stopping time, rewinding time, skipping time-"

"You say they're rare, but there are this many?!" Takumi asked.

"You need to keep a few things in mind; my world has a population in the billions, and these ones are all dead," she said. "So, yeah, it's still extremely rare." She was so surprised by how quickly she'd become comfortable that she took the risk and did something that she was usually way too shy to do. "So... enough about me. Could you tell me more about you?"

"Certainly! I'll prepare some tea and we can continue this lovely chat," Virion offered.

"Thank you." Takumi gave her a little nudge and an encouraging smile. Well, this was a great start. Normally it was hard for her to make friends because she was so weird and nervous all the time, but no one seemed to mind her oddities very much here. Things were already looking good.


	4. Understanding

Exhausted after that first conversation, Kiran then spent the next few days holed up in the library, as she had predicted. Alfonse had gone to check on her on day two, only to find her with her nose buried in a book, on the verge of dropping off, mumbling to herself, and her stomach growling so loudly that he could hear it across the room. Dancing Queen was hovering over her shoulder, poking her shoulder and trying to get her attention. When he confronted her about it, she had told him that she had been so focused on her work that she hadn't noticed that it was already sunup or how hungry she really was. As for the mumbling, she had blushed and told him that reading something out loud helped it to stick in her memory a little easier.

Everyone else quickly learned that she would forgo meals or sleep if she was too distracted by something. Alfonse made sure to chew her out for that bad habit of hers. To prevent that from happening again, Alfonse, Sharena, or Anna would go check on her when they thought she needed one of the two and drag her out if need be. Most of the time, she'd just quietly finish the chapter she was reading and go with them.

Day five was when she finally felt confident enough to try summoning for herself. Anna gave her the orbs used for summoning and explained how they worked. The orbs would charge Breidablik up, and she could then fire a shot through the altar to create a portal for someone to come through. Apparently, Breidablik also drew on her energy to do this, which she didn't notice until she collapsed after twenty straight summons. After yet another scolding from Alfonse about taking care of herself, it was decided that until further notice, someone would be assigned to keep an eye on her and make sure she was doing so. Kiran groaned about it, but Dancing Queen could be seen nodding in approval. Apparently, the Stand had been just as frustrated about her user's lack of self-care.

At least she had been allowed to pick who would be watching her. After some deliberation about who had the most free time and who she wanted to try and connect with to practice her social skills, she decided to pick Henry, much to a lot of peoples' surprise. "He talks enough for two people, so I don't need to say a lot if it doesn't work out," she explained. "Plus, he's funny."

\--------------------------------------------

Having been temporarily banned from the library until she cleaned up her act, Kiran had no idea how she was going to spend all of her time. She got bored way too easily. That was another big reason why she picked Henry; he could at least keep her entertained. The two had decided to just sit in the courtyard and chat for a bit. He'd started by telling her about curses and hexes that he had cast and that he was working on, and she was listening fairly attentively. "Usually when I get to the parts about blood gushing out of orifices, people tell me to stop," he noted. "Mmmm... blood."

"I actually studied quite a bit about medicine back home," she admitted. "Bodies and the things they do don't gross me out at all. The smell of rot is the only thing that bothers me, really."

"Ooh, what did you get to do?" he asked.

"Mostly drug distribution. I had to know what drugs treated what illnesses, what the side effects were, what drug combinations were potentially fatal, symptoms of allergy or overdose, and how to treat overdoses," she explained. "I used to work in animal medicine instead of people medicine, but the sheer physical demand was a bit too much for me. Wrestling huge animals to the ground to give them medicine was something I wasn't capable of. I enjoyed it while it lasted, though."

"Couldn't you use Dancing Queen to hold them down?" he brought up.

"No way. Animals are extremely sensitive to supernatural phenomena. That would just freak them out even more. When an animal is in pain and scared, the last thing you want to do is make it worse," she sighed. Dancing Queen pouted slightly, so Kiran gently stroked the back of the Stand's hand. "Not your fault, Queen. I just wasn't good enough."

"So, what's the coolest thing you got to see?"

"Definitely a sheep giving birth. A lot of people get grossed out watching live birth, but I just think it's fascinating! The grossest was a dog that got hit on the road. There were already maggots in the wounds when she was brought in, poor thing. I know they were eating up the dead skin to help her feel better and get a free meal, but the smell was horrible," she complained, wrinkling her nose at the memory. "She was fine in the end, thankfully."

"Y'know, you kinda remind me of my friend Miriel," he said. "She kept using that word, 'fascinating'. And she was always trying to learn more about everything around her. She even helped me experiment with some of my trickier hexes! She'd sometimes get so into whatever she was reading that she wouldn't notice that she was about to walk off a cliff or a snake was about to bite her!"

"She sounds interesting. I really hope I get to meet her someday," she told him.

"Me too! I've been working on a few new hexes that I want to show her! Hey, maybe I could teach you how to hex people, too! Then we could all practice and study together!" he offered.

"Well... I mean... I could try. Not sure if I'd be any good at it, though," she mumbled. "Magic doesn't even exist in my world."

"Well, you won't know until you try! Now, who should we practice on?"

\--------------------------------------------

Of course, finding willing test subjects proved to be far more difficult than it sounded, even after they had both assured anyone that they had asked (and Kiran insisted that they needed permission first) that they wouldn't do anything permanent or lethal. If it wasn't nervousness about the idea of being hexed, it was pride not allowing them to take a hex without fighting back or counter-hexing. "Well, we tried," Kiran sighed.

"Why'd you ask them?" Henry asked. "We definitely could've done it if you didn't."

"Consent between allies is important," she answered. "It's something that should never be violated. No means no."

"Well, your loss," he shrugged.

"Actually, now that I think about it... Aren't we heading out to the World of Mystery to stop an Emblian invasion soon? We could practice on them if we get the chance!" she realized. "And they don't get to complain about it because they invaded first!"

"Ooh, good idea! No one can complain if we do that! Let's go!"

\--------------------------------------------

"I figured as much; no magic in my world," Kiran sighed. "Looks like summoning is all the magic I can do."

"Yeah, too bad. Well, it wasn't a total loss; I got to test out my instant kill hex! If Maribelle shows up, she'll be happy to see that I got that to work!" Henry cheered.

"What does it do?" she asked, curious.

"If someone suffers a fatal injury or something, poof! Dead instantly! No need for pain or fear! Death is fun and bleeding is awesome, but pain is ouchy!" he explained.

"Whoa, that's really useful!" she commented. "You come up with some really good ideas for curses."

"Aw, thanks! Hey, you might not be able to cast curses, but I bet you could come up with some interesting ideas, too!" he suggested. "Some of those other Stands you read about might give you some!"

"You know, that just might work. There are lots of crazy abilities out there; there are bound to be some that could be replicated by a curse or something!" she agreed. "I'll have to add that to the list of research I'll be doing. You know, when I'm not grounded anymore," she grumbled. Dancing Queen appeared just to cross her arms and look at her like a disappointed mother. "Don't give me that look! I know I screwed up!"

"Oh, speaking of that, dinner should be ready soon! We'd better get going; you dropping dead from starvation is a big no-no!" he warned.

"Okay, okay," she sighed, picking herself up off the ground. "Well, it was fun talking to you! We should do this again sometime!"

"Oh, definitely! Be sure to let me know if you get any fun cursey ideas!"

\--------------------------------------------

Well, that had certainly been fun. But, she thought, maybe she should pick someone a bit closer to the idea of 'normal' for the next shift. If she was going to practice watching for social queues and talking to different people, she'd have to go with someone a little further out of her comfort zone than Henry. Hmm... who to choose?


	5. Family

Oh, great, this was the last thing she needed; a potential fight.

Takumi was at one end of the mess hall, glaring at the group in black on the other end. His retainers were taking the time to glare at them too. No one had started yelling, so that was good. She couldn't handle yelling, especially men yelling. Taking her usual calming breaths, she made her way over to her usual spot next to him, hoping to find out what exactly was going on. "Hey, Takumi," she greeted carefully.

"Hey, Kiran," he greeted back, not even looking at her.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, hoping she didn't say the wrong thing.

"I just can't believe how unlucky you got. Managing to summon almost everyone in the Nohrian royal family, and getting none of my siblings? They'd better show up soon," he grumbled.

"Wait, 'Nohrian'? Are those guys related to that Xander who tried to kill me last week?"

"Exactly. You can't trust them. They murdered our father and stole our sibling from us," he snarled. "I can't ever forgive them for what they did."

Kiran frowned; they'd honestly been nothing but kind to her (though Leo had been a bit aloof and Camilla had been a little... over-affectionate) ever since she'd summoned them. There had to be more to what was going on with these two families. She'd have to find time to talk to them and get their side of the story. Probably later, when Takumi wasn't around. She didn't want him thinking he was taking sides. It wouldn't be the first time she'd managed to manipulate two sides into getting along. Of course, in her case, it was just two classmates who had gotten into a stupid fight and each had contacted her separately asking for advice on how to fix things. But this couldn't be that much harder... right?

"What's wrong?" he asked. "You've never been nervous talking to me before. Are you okay?"

"Takumi," she started, fidgeting nervously, "I don't know what things are like back in your world, but this isn't your world. This world is facing its own crisis, and the people here need all the help they can get. That includes them, no matter how much you might dislike it. They answered the summon, which means that they wanted to help. I'm not saying you need to get along with them; I'm just asking if you'd please try not to antagonize them. This conflict is bigger than both of your families."

"I'm not antagonizing them!" he snapped. "Why don't you go yell at them for antagonizing me?!"

Kiran flinched, but held her ground. "I'm planning to later." That was a lie; she was only planning to talk to them and ask for more details. "And I'm not yelling at you." When she or her mother got upset or something, her father would disarm them by staying completely calm and speaking softly. Kiran herself thought it sounded condescending, but it was worth a try, right? "Just... be careful, okay? The last thing we need right now is infighting."

"...Fine. But you be careful too. I don't want to have to say 'I told you so' when they stab you in the back," he hissed.

\--------------------------------------------

Later that day, she'd run into one of her targets out by the stables. She was giving her wyvern a bath, and they both looked to be in good moods. Perfect. "Excuse me, Princess Camilla?" she asked shyly.

"Oh, dear, you know you can just call me Camilla, right?" she replied, pulling Kiran into a hug. Though she tensed, she made no effort to pull away. She had Dancing Queen on standby, watching for Takumi. The last thing she needed was to be seen talking to someone that her best friend here considered an enemy.

"Camilla, then," she corrected. "I'd actually like to ask you about something."

"Go on, then. Ask away," she encouraged.

"Okay." Taking a deep breath to slow her racing heart, she prepared to ask her questions. "Um... so I was talking with Takumi earlier-"

"Oh, the little Hoshidan prince? He's so cute when he gets frustrated," Camilla giggled. "Reminds me so much of my own darling baby brother Leo."

"Yeah, well... He mentioned something... about... a sibling being stolen?" she tentatively pressed.

Camilla sighed, her smile fading. "Ah, yes, that," she admitted. "I don't know how much you know about Hoshido or Nohr, but our two kingdoms have been at war for quite a while now. Our father is... not a good man. If anyone spoke out against him, he would have them killed or worse, even his own children. This is honestly the first time I've been able to speak of this without fear of him finding out."

"I'm glad you feel safe here. No one should have to live in fear of their own parents," Kiran assured. Tentatively, she reached out to touch Camilla's shoulder. She didn't push away, which seemed like a good sign.

"One night, he came home with a tiny, terrified child, and he told us that this was our new sibling. Corrin was kept isolated from the rest of us, but we did our best to take care of the poor little dear. We cared for Corrin just as much as we cared for each other, but even then, there was only so much we could do," she sighed sadly. "We knew Corrin had been stolen from Hoshido, but there was nothing we could do about that without Father finding out. Besides, they stole Azura right back."

"I see," she mused. "Did your father try to get her back?"

"He didn't make even the slightest effort," she answered. "The Hoshidans thought they could bargain with her; exchange Azura for Corrin. But Father refused. I hope she's alright. We were never close, but I wish we had been."

It looked like things were more complicated than they seemed on the surface. The king of Nohr seemed to be the key to all of the misery between the two kingdoms, but it wasn't like Hoshido's hands were completely clean, either. Before she could ask more, one of Dancing Queen's eyes lit up. Arrival was signalling that Takumi was coming. Activating her ability, she took off just in time for Takumi to turn the corner. He bristled at the sight of Camilla, but he remembered what Kiran had said and made an effort to stay calm. "Where's Kiran?" he asked brusquely. "I thought I heard her voice just now."

Camilla blinked in confusion. "That's odd..." she mused. "She was just here a moment ago, but I don't remember seeing her leave."

 _Likely story,_ he thought, but he bit his tongue and kept his words to himself. _No antagonizing._

\--------------------------------------------

"Who's Azura?"

"Argh!" Takumi yelped, aiming his bow at the attacker. Kiran threw her hands up in surrender, somehow managing to not knock her hood off. "Don't sneak up on me like that! You scared me half to death!"

"Sorry! That happens a lot," she admitted. "I'm way too quiet for my own good. Whenever I needed to talk to someone about something important back home, I'd just quietly enter the room and wait until they noticed I was there because I was too nervous to speak up. I always ended up startling them because they never even noticed that I had shown up."

"I can believe that," he groaned, calming down. "You could be a ninja with the right training! So, what did you want to know?"

"Who's Azura?" she repeated.

He froze. "She's... supposed to be my sister," he started, unsure.

"'Supposed to be'?"

"When my family tried to get Corrin back, we ended up with her instead. They tried to trade Azura for Corrin, but the Nohrians wouldn't take her back. Mother decided to let her stay with us, so she became our sister. I wasn't exactly the best brother to her, though," he admitted. "Ryoma and the others tried to make her feel welcome, but I didn't trust her because she was Nohrian, so I fought with her constantly. I told her that she wasn't my sister and she never would be. She never got angry with me, though; she just accepted it. It wasn't until I was older that I understood just how horrible I'd been acting towards her. I want to be able to talk to her, to tell her how sorry I am for treating her like that."

"It's scary to admit that you were wrong, and hard to apologize. Being able to do that is a sign of maturity," she encouraged.

"Thanks."

Well, now she had a bit of a better understanding of what this whole mess was about. From the sounds of things, neither sibling group had truly treated their stolen sibling poorly. Even Takumi, as grumpy and bitter as he was. The adults in the situation seemed to be the problematic ones. Well, isn't that always what happens with war? Children eventually getting dragged into fights their elders started?

Her thought process was interrupted by Anna. Another invasion was imminent, and they needed to head out to the World of Conquest right away. Well, she'd continue to think on how she was going to solve this problem later. For now, she had to focus on the problem that was right in front of her.

\--------------------------------------------

Hopefully, this would help; killing two birds with one stone. Kiran had decided to bring Takumi and the Nohrian royals along on their mission. Hopefully, while watching them, he'd see that they weren't so different. That would be a good first step towards possible peace-making.

A flash from Dancing Queen caught her attention. "Crap," she hissed. "Xander's waiting for us up ahead. He's accompanied by... wait a minute. It's... you guys?"

"Breidablik summons Heroes from specific points in time," Alfonse explained. "It's not strange to think that someone that you summoned would show up in their own world."

"Ah, right, that does makes sense..." she mumbled. Cautiously stepping out into the open, the team faced the enemy. Elise cheerfully waved at her counterpart, who returned the gesture in kind. "So, you have come to battle us?" Xander challenged. "This will be the second time you face my blade."

"Second time?" Leo asked, looking to Kiran.

"Uh, yeah, he and Veronica ambushed us when I first came here. He nearly killed me. Not something I particularly like to bring up," she said.

"You're lucky to be alive," he said bluntly, scaring her even more.

"It was nothing personal. We are all bound by a contract with Princess Veronica. And yet I am also bound in another way - by the deep loneliness I see in her eyes. She reminds me of one of my siblings who was once held captive in a joyless fortress," he mused.

"I take it he means Corrin?" Kiran asked. Leo nodded.

"He always made an effort to try and ease Corrin's loneliness. He might seem harsh, but he really cared; he still does," he explained.

"Perhaps you can understand why I could never oppose her. Or perhaps you cannot. Either way, it's time that my family and I put an end to you. Camilla, Leo, and Elise - we battle now!"

\--------------------------------------------

"Okay, this is getting weird," Leo complained. Kiran couldn't blame him; having to fight yourself would certainly be an odd experience.

"I guess this means the possibility of me summoning the same Heroes from different times is plausible," she admitted.

"Don't worry, Leo, dear," Camilla assured. "It'll be over soon. We just have to teach Xander a lesson about leaving family behind." Her grin was a little scary, so Kiran ducked behind Elise.

"Do we really have to fight Xander?" she asked, looking miserable.

"Yes, unfortunately. It's the only way to break the contract," Kiran explained. "Don't worry; you know your siblings won't hit him with anything too lethal." Arrival hissed in warning as one of Dancing Queen's eyes lit up. "He's just up ahead," she warned. "His retainers are there, along with an axe cavalier." She was getting more used to the terminology.

The group entered the darkened castle cautiously. There was only one room before them, with no other way in or out. Yet, Xander did not look cornered at all. For a moment, Kiran feared that he had managed to lead them into a trap. "How intriguing. You managed to battle your way to me. Princess Veronica said that the Order of Heroes had the advantage of a legendary summoner. Clearly, that is true," he complimented.

"Uh... thanks?" she said, not really sure what to think. She was still a little upset at him for almost cutting her head off.

"Still, we'll put a stop to you now. Laslow? Peri? Let's show them that we will not fall to their force," he ordered.

"Really, now, Xander," Camilla sighed. "Can't we just put a stop to this?"

"You know very well that we cannot," he answered sadly. "For what it's worth, I am sorry that it had to come to this."

"What a coincidence; so am I," she giggled menacingly. "Kiran, your orders?"

"R-Right! Camilla, can you handle Peri? Leo, aim for the cavalier. Elise, you're on standby. If someone needs healing, heal them. Takumi, stick close to Camilla. Xander's dangerously close to her, and she might need back-up. Move out!" she ordered.

\--------------------------------------------

It was tough, but the fight was won. Camilla held her axe to Xander's neck, daring him to make another move against them. Elise wanted to run over and heal him, but she wasn't sure if he was still their enemy or not. Leo kept her close to comfort her, while Takumi watched from a distance, ready to put an arrow in Xander's side if he made a wrong move. "You fought well. I admit defeat," he stated. "This means that the contract that binds us is now broken. Those of my world are no longer compelled to fight you - or to invade the Askran kingdom. But I choose to stay at the side of Princess Veronica."

"What?! Why?!" Elise demanded, near tears.

"You can't be serious, Xander!" Leo snapped, enraged. "You would abandon your own family for... for this?!"

"Now, look at how you've upset them, Xander," Camilla scolded. "Shameful, really."

"It appears you truly don't understand," he sighed.

"I think I get it," Kiran chimed in, looking thoughtful. "I was thinking about what you said earlier, and what I've heard from your siblings." She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, as all eyes were on her now. Dancing Queen gently squeezed her hand, and she gratefully accepted the comfort. "The way I see it, you're just a big softie."

"Excuse me?"

"You put on this act of being aloof and stern because you have to be as heir to the throne. But you see this sad, lonely little girl, and you remember the sibling that you believe you failed. You see an opportunity to do better, to give this girl a happier life than what your poor sibling got," she explained. "You've been thinking that your other siblings will be able to take care of themselves and each other, but this girl has no one to keep her company, and you can't just leave her like that. That's commendable, really. You've earned my respect. Let him go, Camilla." The elder princess made a face, but she put down her axe.

She turned to Elise. "Go on and heal his wounds. If he wants to leave, I won't stop him."

"You do know that the next time we meet, we will still be enemies," he pointed out as Elise got to work.

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Hopefully, we can figure something out by then. Who knows? You might be a good influence on her," she answered. "Until then, we'll stop you and Veronica as many times as we need to." Arrival hissed in challenge, not caring that he couldn't hear her. He gave her a small smile as he left.

"I've said this to Corrin once, and I'll say it to you now, sweetie," Camilla warned. "I truly hope that kindness of yours doesn't become a weakness."

All the while, Takumi was watching quietly. If Ryoma had just left them like that... he couldn't imagine how badly it would hurt. He'd hated Nohr for as long as he could remember. He wanted to make them suffer for taking Corrin away. But now that they were actually suffering, he didn't feel any happier. Kiran seemed to notice how deep in thought he was, and gave him a little smile. Hopefully, things would start to get better from now on.

\--------------------------------------------

"How can a Hero like Xander choose to stay loyal to Veronica and the Emblian Empire?" Anna asked. The high-ranking members of the Order of Heroes were having a meeting to discuss the mission before they headed for home. The others were out scouting or looking for food, with Arrival twisting and spinning in the air to make sure no one got ambushed. Spirits had been low; the mission wasn't a total failure, but it wasn't a total success either.

"There are Heroes who help the people of our world by their own free will," Alfonse argued. "But there is something about you that wins Heroes over quickly, Kiran. But it's highly unusual and happens only rarely."

"Really?" she mumbled. "I don't get how. I mean, I was never this popular back in my own world. I had no friends at all."

"Three of my best friends are Heroes!" Sharena explained. "Remember Virion, Matthew, and Raigh? That's why they stayed with us even though we didn't properly summon them. I only wish I had more friends like them."

"I've told you before, Sharena," Alfonse scolded. "Heroes are not friends. Only our allies. Don't get close to them."

"Oh, you," she argued back. "Don't be prickly. You think that only because you were once very close to a Hero. And that one left to go home."

"Enough, Sharena."

"Well, am I right or not?"

Kiran curled up to make herself smaller. She'd just gotten out of a potential argument, only for another one to start up right when she was starting to relax again. It certainly didn't help that Alfonse was getting louder and more agitated. Anna seemed to notice and stepped in. "Let's speak of it no more," she ordered. "We should make our way back to the castle after some food. Surely, there's another mission that we need to prepare for."

To Kiran's relief, the two calmed down and backed off. That was obviously a very touchy subject; definitely something to not bring up when they got back. But not all of today's social interactions had been failures; Arrival spotted Leo and Takumi awkwardly talking on their way back to camp, making her smile. Well, it was a start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Information Added:  
> Stand Name: Dancing Queen (Arrival)  
> Music Reference: Dancing Queen by ABBA (from the album Arrival)  
> Stand Master: Kiran
> 
> Stats: Main Body (Arrival)  
> Destructive Power: D (E)  
> Speed: C (B)  
> Range: D, 2 meters (B, 25 meters)  
> Durability: D (E)  
> Precision: B (B)  
> Developmental Potential: B
> 
> Stand Ability:  
> 1\. Scout: Dancing Queen possesses two bodies; one humanoid (Dancing Queen), and one snake scout (Arrival). Each of these bodies can create a maximum of 100 eyes across them. However, if any of the eyes are damaged by an attack, Kiran's eyes will be damaged as well, so the more she makes, the easier a target she becomes. She can see through these eyes in order to spy on distant targets or look in many different directions. It's hard to process information coming from many eyes at once, so too many eyes can make it difficult for her to keep track of what she's looking at. Closing her own eyes helps her to focus somewhat.  
> As the two bodies are still a single Stand, they have a connection. If Kiran is keeping an eye out for a specific target, she can have Arrival 'watch out' for it. If Arrival sees what Kiran is looking for, it can signal Dancing Queen. However, Kiran must constantly picture the target in her mind for this to work; if she falters, the signal might get jumbled up, and Arrival will not know to signal Dancing Queen.  
> 2\. ?  
> Kiran has not gotten into any proper fights yet. As such, Dancing Queen's combat ability is not yet known at this point in time. There have been a few hints to it.


	6. Home

"Every world has such different terrain than our own. Trees, ruins, lava... Tactician! Have any of these worlds been like your own?" Anna asked. They'd just finished a mission in the World of Blazing, and the squad was resting after dealing with a battle that had gotten a bit too hot to handle, literally. Takumi was preparing some meat he'd hunted earlier for storage, Raigh was reading and pretending to ignore everyone, Fae was cuddling up in Kiran's lap (which had startled her at first, but she didn't have the heart to tell her to move), and Elise was taking care of any lingering injuries.

"I suppose we don't know much about your world. And how rude of us not to ask until now!" Alfonse realized.

"Well... there's a lot to go over. My world is huge," she started. "To start, there are seven different continents. Each of them is divided into almost two hundred different countries; some big, some small. There are all sorts of different climates and environments depending on where you live, but we figured out how to manage living pretty much anywhere. I lived in Canada, the second biggest country in my world. I used to live near the northern part, but my mother got fed up with how prolonged our winters were, so when she retired from her job as a teacher, we moved to her hometown in the southern part. Much warmer, and they grew very good tomatoes there."

"I bet Leo would love it!" Elise said.

"Yeah, probably. I like living in small towns. I couldn't handle big cities; everyone's in such a rush to get where they need to go, and it's so loud all the time. I went to one of our capital cities for a school trip once, and while it was exciting, I wouldn't be able to handle that as a part of day-to-day life," Kiran sighed.

"Wait, 'one of our capital cities'?" Alfonse asked.

"Some countries are so big that they're divided into different provinces or states, and each one has a capital. I went to the provincial capital, not the country's capital," she continued. "Honestly, I almost made myself dizzy looking at all the skyscrapers!"

"What's a skyscraper?" Fae asked, curious.

Kiran smiled. "They're huge buildings, even taller than the castle," she told the little dragon. "They're called that because of how absolutely tall they are and the fact that they have pointed tips. They don't actually 'scrape' the sky; the sky's just air, and you can't really touch air."

"Yes, I can! Watch!" Fae jumped up and nearly tumbled over herself trying to catch air in her hands. "See! I touched it!"

"You sure did!" Kiran laughed. "There was an even taller tower there, too. Back when it was built, every country seemed to be competing to build the tallest tower that they could as a show of power. My class got to go up to the top, and it was so tall that all the people down on the ground looked just like ants!"

"You said they were competing; was that one the tallest?" Anna asked.

"Nope, it's the third tallest. Let's see... what were the measurements again...?" she thought, mumbling numbers to herself. "Okay, Dancing Queen can move 2 meters away from me before losing power, while Arrival can move 25 meters." The Stand demonstrated by moving its maximum distance from her, with Arrival lying flat on the ground. Each left a mark where they were so that Anna, Sharena, and Alfonse could see. "So, the tower I visited was about 533 meters tall, and the tallest one is 634 meters. So it was about four Arrivals taller."

"Wowie! That's huge!" Fae gasped.

"How did you manage to climb that?" Anna asked, shocked.

"It has an elevator built in." She then realized that she'd have to explain what an elevator was. "Pretty much all really tall buildings come with elevators these days for convenience. It's like a long upwards tunnel with a big metal box in it. You press a button to call the box to the floor you're on, get in, close the door, press the button to tell it what floor you want to stop at, and the metal cables pull it up or down. You can get all the way up to the top of the building in just a few seconds! Way faster than taking the stairs!"

"Fascinating..." Alfonse mumbled, clearly interested.

"Most things we invented were made for the sake of convenience and making our lives easier. We didn't have magic to make things easier for us, so we had to find other ways. We can talk to people over long distances even if they're on the other side of the world, get from point A to point B far more quickly than walking, and find any information we need almost instantly without having to read through thousands of books just to find one bit of information! Not like I know how they work, though," she admitted. "I studied medicine, not technology."

"Is that how you got all the information you have on Stands?" Sharena asked.

"Yes, it was very convenient. They even had a messenger board where Stand users could chat about their circumstances without being seen as weird. Helped me get a lot off of my chest at my lowest points."

"Do you miss your home?" Fae asked curiously. Everyone froze at the question; none of them had even considered that. Kiran just shook her head sadly.

"Not really," she admitted. "Sure, it was a lot more convenient, but that didn't necessarily make it better. It wasn't a very kind place. People are still fighting for their rights even today. A lot of people are suffering and dying for the sake of the obscenely rich making a lot more money. Racism is at an all-time high. Our oceans are being poisoned, there's garbage everywhere, and a lot of rare animals are dying off because people hunt them for fun or profit rather than actual need. And on a more personal level, until I came here, Dancing Queen was the only friend I had. This place is much nicer in comparison."

"So, you'll stay?! Yay!" Fae cheered, hugging her.

Kiran smiled, but Alfonse could tell that she was a little shaken up. It looked like the idea of her going home hadn't even crossed her mind. How bad had her life been before coming to their world? Could he ask that without being insensitive? "Well," Anna interrupted, "I've honestly never seen a gateway to a world like the one you've described before."

"Well, I certainly won't worry too much about it," Kiran replied. "Sure, I might miss my parents a little, but everyone has to leave the nest someday. Uh, that means to leave home and live separately from the rest of your family, in case you were wondering."

"I'm done packing up the food!" Takumi reported. "Let's head back so we can get this stored properly."

"Well, that's one thing I'll miss; being able to just get in a car and get a ride somewhere instead of walking everywhere," Kiran groaned, pushing herself to her feet.

"A 'car'?" Alfonse repeated, confused.

"Crap. Uh... it's kind of like a wagon, but it's mostly made of metal. The wheels are made of rubber for cushioning, and the insides are... I think it's leather? Anyway, you burn something called gasoline inside it to make it go," she explained as best as she could. "There was actually a Stand in the reports that was basically a shapeshifting car; Wheel of Fortune. It could make spikes on the wheels so that it could ride up walls or across rough terrain, it could dig underground for a sneak attack, and it could launch pressurized gasoline at people so hard that it left holes behind. All you'd need after that is a spark, and the victim's body would go up in flames."

"That sounds terrifying," Sharena said.

"Oh, I'll bet it was. Regular cars are scary enough if there's a crazy person trying to kill you driving them. A Stand car being driven by an assassin? That's a whole other dose of terrifying," she agreed, shivering. "Thankfully, the user's dead. According to the reports, his body was found in one of his safe houses. He'd dropped dead from a stroke. Oh, right, I have to explain that, too. Luckily, this is my specialty. Okay, blood is carried through the body by these little passages called blood vessels. When you hold yourself in an upside down position, your head feels funny, right?"

"Hold me!" Fae yelled, launching herself onto her hands. She nearly fell over, but Raigh caught her, mumbling about how careless she was being. "Ooh, yeah, I feel it!"

"He'd been found chained upside down to a rock, and the guys who found him had no idea how long he had been like that. Had to have been hours for that to happen. See, our bodies aren't meant to be upside down for long periods of time, so they're not used to what happens when we do it," she continued. "Doing it for short periods of time is healthy, and you can extend the time as you get used to it, but if you do it for too long... Too much weight gets put on the lungs, which we need to breathe. More blood flows to the heart, and it gets overworked trying to pump it all out. It puts strain on the eyes, making it harder to see. And because the blood vessels in the top parts of our bodies aren't used to holding that kind of pressure, they can break and cause blood to leak out. The most likely results are edema or a stroke. Edema is caused by fluid building up in the body to the point where the pressure interferes with how your organs work and kills you. And a stroke means that there was either too much or too little blood flow to the head. Either way, it's bad."

As the rest of the team continued to ask questions about Stands and Kiran's world, Alfonse hung back, lost in thought.

\--------------------------------------------

"Kiran? Could I speak with you alone for a moment?" Alfonse asked. They'd just returned to the castle, and everyone was returning to their quarters to get some rest and prepare for the next mission. Kiran was a little puzzled, but she nodded. The two made their way to Kiran's room near the library. She loved the location so much; since no one but her and the Askrans were allowed in the deeper sections, it meant that if she was having a bad day, she didn't need to socialize at all.

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked cautiously. One on one conversations with people in positions of authority made her a lot more nervous than groups. Not to mention that she had barely spent any time with Alfonse off of the battlefield, when her adrenaline levels were too low to mask her nervousness. And then there was what he had said the other day... did that mean that he didn't consider her a friend?

"I hadn't really considered the ramifications of summoning the Great Hero to our world," he started, unsure. "I'd completely ignored the possibility that you would have a life of your own, and we'd be taking you from it. I know you said that you don't miss it, but it was still wrong of me to not consider the possibility that you would actually want to go home. Please accept my sincerest apologies." He bowed to her, ashamed of how inconsiderate he had been.

"Don't worry about it, really!" she insisted, shocked. "Maybe that's why Breidablik picked me in the first place; someone who the world wouldn't miss, and someone who wouldn't miss the world. Besides, I don't really think of my world as home anymore, anyways."

"Really?" he asked, unconvinced.

"There's an old saying from my world that applies here; 'home is where the heart is'. I believe that's quite self-explanatory," she told him. "I've never been happier here. I have so many new friends, and I'm finally starting to learn how to cope with my social anxiety! Sure, I'm still terrified as all hell when I'm meeting new people, but I'm getting used to them faster and faster! And no one pokes fun at me if I get too quiet or run my mouth or do something strange! As far as I'm concerned, my home... my heart... is here."

She paused, tugging at her hood. "Was that too cheesy? It was, it was definitely cheesy, I should've shut up long ago..." she mumbled.

"I think it was fine. Thank you, Kiran." Alfonse reached for her shoulder, waiting for any indication to back off. She didn't pull away, so he touched her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. A hand touched his opposite shoulder, but he couldn't see anything there when he looked. Was it Dancing Queen? "If you'd like... we could talk like this again sometime," he offered.

Kiran gave him a faint smile, tilting her head back just enough that her blue eyes were visible. "I'd like that very much."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know he'd have to still be upside down to have a stroke risk. Blame it on Jojo pseudoscience.


	7. Hidden Power

Kiran was tired beyond belief when she went to bed that night. Not only did they have to rush to the World of Awakening to save it, Veronica went after the World of Mystery again when they weren't looking! And she had to co-ordinate both assaults! Having Takumi, Leo, Virion, and Robin as back-up tacticians was helpful and all, but the majority of decisions were still in her hands. If they had a big enough force, they could cover more ground, but an army numbering not even one hundred wouldn't stand a chance divided against an empire that strong. Couldn't she summon more? Why wasn't she good enough?

She sighed, indulging in an old habit. When she was upset at night, she'd call Dancing Queen and cuddle with her until she fell asleep. It was a source of comfort to have her oldest and dearest friend at her side when she needed it the most. Arrival curled around her arm, gently nuzzling her cheek, while Dancing Queen went for a full-on hug. "Thanks," she mumbled, trying to get her thoughts out of her head. Tomorrow was another day. Hopefully, she'd be able to contribute more.

\--------------------------------------------

It wasn't going well. Her latest summoning attempt was another dud. Growling in frustration, Kiran prepared to make another attempt. She _needed_ to do this. She _needed_ to succeed, or what good was she as a summoner? She was interrupted by Alfonse rushing into the shrine. "Ah, there you are! Emblian forces have invaded the World of Birthright! We need to move out immediately!"

Kiran, frustrated, snarled and punched the ground. Dancing Queen punched along with her, leaving a small hole in the ground. "Oh, come on!" she snapped.

He flinched. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing. Everything's perfectly fine except for the fact that I just failed another summon! What good is a summoner who can't summon anything?!" She was starting to hyperventilate, and desperately tried to hold back her tears. It wouldn't do to make herself look even worse in front of him.

"Can't summon anything? Kiran, you've summoned more Heroes in a week then we managed to summon in years! Just because you're having a dry spell doesn't mean you're a failure, or whatever you think you are," he assured. "You're amazing, and you shouldn't let anyone tell you otherwise; not even yourself."

Kiran smiled slightly. Ever since their talk a few nights ago, he'd been trying to open up a little and talk to her more. He was a good person, just a little awkward; kind of like her in that regard. "Okay. So, you were saying something about an invasion?"

"Yes. We need to hurry and catch up with the others."

\--------------------------------------------

"This is so weird."

"Now you know how we felt back when we had to do it."

Kiran felt a rush of satisfaction as she watched Takumi and Leo talk. The two had started off awkwardly, sure, but they'd managed to become best friends so quickly. She'd often catch them trying new foods together, reading up on history and tactics, or teaching each other their favorite games. They'd even been working together to tutor her in tactics, and she was learning a lot from them. Looked like her plan worked.

But now onto the more current issue. The group (the higher-ups, Takumi, Leo, Hinoka, and Hector) was rapidly approaching Castle Shirasagi, where Ryoma and his retainers would be waiting for them. Arrival was up ahead, locked onto Ryoma's image so that Kiran would know the second he got too close for comfort. "Be careful," Takumi warned. "There's a private chamber in front of the throne room, sealed off from the rest of the castle. If I know Ryoma, he's going to try and lock someone in there for a one-on-one duel to the death. Saizo and Kagero are ninjas, so be on the lookout for traps."

"Thanks, Takumi. Having inside information on the terrain is always helpful," she told him.

"It still doesn't sit right," he admitted.

"I understand. It hurts selling out a sibling, but sometimes it's for their own good."

"Sounds like you have experience. Do you have any siblings?" Hinoka asked.

"A younger brother. We couldn't stand each other," she admitted. "He got picked on because I was weird, so he'd get angry and take it out on me. He was much bigger than me, so I couldn't really do anything about it. When I told my parents, they just assumed I was being dramatic, and they would just half-heartedly tell him to stop it. They excused his behavior by saying that he would grow out of it."

"Did he?" Takumi asked.

"Yes, eventually. He's actually become a responsible young man; I'm honestly surprised. He was completely ashamed of how he acted towards me as a kid. We barely talk, but it's better than what we had before, where one of us couldn't say a word to the other without setting off a violent shouting match," she sighed.

"You mentioned selling him out?" Leo pressed.

"I once had to go to school really far away from home. When I was finished for the year, my parents came over to bring me home for the summer, and he was left to watch the house and our dog. When we got back, everything looked oddly clean. He definitely wasn't the type to clean if he didn't have to. When I went to my room to get some sleep, I noticed that the whole lower floor of the house stank of alcohol. He threw a party, which he was absolutely not supposed to do, and invited all of his idiot friends; the same idiots who threw eggs at our house because they didn't like my mom. One of them had previously entered our house, threw a huge rock, and took off before we even knew what had happened. Him cleaning the house was an attempt to cover everything up. Of course I told our parents, and he got in trouble." She sighed, exasperated. "That idiot was just lucky nothing got broken or stolen."

"I know it's probably a stupid question, but did he have a Stand?" Hector asked.

"No, which is weird. Stands tend to run through bloodlines," she explained. "As far as I know, Stand development through natural means is mostly random." Dancing Queen's eye flashed, drawing Kiran's attention. "He's up ahead. Just like you said, Takumi; he's waiting for us in that secret room. I see his retainers just outside, and yours are there too."

"Of course they are," Takumi grumbled. "Always so eager to please."

\--------------------------------------------

The group halted at the entrance, Kiran scouting for traps all the while. "I'm surprised you made it this far," Ryoma declared. "You've defeated my siblings and some of the best in Hoshido. But now I will stop you here at the cost of my own life, if necessary. I challenge one of you to single combat. How will you fare against the High Prince of Hoshido?"

The lights dimmed, putting the group on the defensive. Kiran felt hands on her wrists and over her mouth. Fortunately for her, she had an advantage. People could speak through their Stands if they themselves were unable to for whatever reason. Dancing Queen screamed a warning in her voice: "Stay together!" She could only hope that they were able to calm down and follow her instruction. When the lights were relit, her heart sank. This was exactly the situation that she should have prevented. While everything was dark, Ryoma's retainers had grabbed her and Alfonse, and had dragged them into the room, which was now completely sealed off.

"Kiran, are you alright?" he asked. She nodded, getting her bearings. Looks like they'd been trying to cut her off from the rest of the group, hoping that they'd lose direction without her. Luckily, Arrival had been left on the other side, curled around Takumi's neck just in case something like that happened. Good; she could still give directions like this. She wouldn't be able to hear what was going on, but at least she could see. They'd be alright; the problem was this guy. From what Takumi had told her, Ryoma was scarily powerful; Xander's equal in power and influence. Alfonse didn't stand a chance against him one-on-one. But he was going to try.

"Can everyone hear me?" she asked. She could see some nods and some lip movements that seemed vaguely like 'yes'. "Good. Hector, I need you to move on Oboro on the right flank. Be careful; that spear is no joke. Takumi, stick with him. Maybe your dashing good looks will throw her off." Hector seemed to be laughing, while Takumi flushed red and muttered something angry under his breath, but she couldn't tell what it was. "Be careful; Kagero's over there, too. Hinoka, take Leo over to the left flank. Hinata and Saizo are over there. Leo, keep Saizo off of Hinoka's back. We'll figure something out here. Sharena, Anna, you're on standby for now. Be careful, everyone."

"Your tactician is quite dedicated," Ryoma complimented, drawing his sword.

Alfonse drew his in turn. "I'm most fortunate to have her," he replied.

"Let's see just how fortunate you are. Come, outsider!" For a moment, neither moved. The next, the room exploded into motion. The two crossed blades, Raijinto surging with power. Ryoma was much larger, with much more muscle and far more experience; Alfonse wouldn't be able to hold out for long. All the while, Kiran's mind was racing. She could use her ability to help him, but if she got caught, would Ryoma turn on her? She stood even less of a chance of winning a straight fight, and these confined quarters meant that she would have nowhere to run if she was attacked. Another swing caught Alfonse in the side, and he howled in pain, crashing to the ground. That did it; Kiran didn't care anymore. Alfonse was going to die if she didn't step in, and he was far more important than she was.

Dancing Queen's eyes glowed menacingly as they locked onto Ryoma. _I just need to get the right angle._ Breathing deeply, knowing that she'd die if she screwed up, she ran behind Alfonse so that Ryoma would be looking directly at her. _Perfect!_ The eyes flashed bright red. Ryoma brought down his sword for the finishing blow, only to completely miss. Raijinto was embedded in the ground about four inches away from where it was supposed to go. Both swordsmen paused, confused as to what had just happened. "Alfonse, now!" Kiran shouted, snapping him out of it. The young prince quickly got to his feet and swung his fully-charged Fólkvangr down. The shock blew Ryoma across the room, and the effect quickly healed Alfonse's wounds.

Kiran checked up on things on the other side through Arrival. Sure enough, all of the fighting was over. Hector was limping slightly, but everyone looked mostly okay. Hinoka quickly knocked the wall down and ran over to check up on them. Ryoma was already starting to get to his feet. "We won, Ryoma. Now will you listen to us?" Takumi asked.

Ryoma shook his head and groaned. "Why do I feel so... reinvigorated? So, it was true what you said? We have been under someone's control?"

"Finally, you listen," Kiran mumbled.

"It's all so clear now. You've saved my kingdom - and rescued me and my retainers. You have my thanks. You also have my apologies for all we put you through, battling on behalf of the true enemy," he told them.

"No problem at all; we were just doing our jobs," Anna insisted.

"That said, I do have a question. How did you move so quickly at the end?" he asked, looking at Alfonse. "I was sure my Raijinto struck you down, but I only struck an afterimage."

Puzzled, Alfonse looked to Kiran. "That wasn't me. And the only other person in the room with us was... Kiran... is there something you're not telling me?" he asked.

Kiran fiddled with her hands and looked away. "Please..." she begged. "Not here... not now..."

Noticing how troubled she looked, he relented. "Fine. But we will be speaking about this at length later."

\--------------------------------------------

"Excellent work, everyone. We managed to liberate the World of Birthright." Anna didn't seem to notice the tension. Kiran and Alfonse were on opposite sides of the temporary camp, both looking conflicted. Everyone else had gone hunting or scouting for supplies, leaving the high-ranking members alone with their thoughts.

_What is she hiding? And why is she hiding it? Does she not trust me? Is it actually hers? Come to think of it, when we first went to the World of Mystery, she mentioned a 'secret weapon'. Could this be it? Does it have something to do with Dancing Queen?_

_Well, I had a feeling this would happen. I trust them, but... can I trust them with my most important secret? I've never told anyone what Dancing Queen can do besides watching. Stand Users whose abilities get found out die once someone finds out how to take advantage of their weak point. That's why it's so important that I keep it hidden._

"I have to admit that I was alarmed when he shouted about going into single combat," Alfonse admitted, attempting to ease the tension. It didn't work; Kiran tensed up even further. "Thank goodness Kiran was able to work around that wall. We should avoid any attempts to separate us!"

"It was terrible, wasn't it?" Sharena agreed. "Being split up like that, I thought we might never see each other again! And... and... and I never, ever, want to go through that again. Not like we did with our friend Zacharias."

"Agreed, Sister." Alfonse looked miserable, which caught Kiran's attention. Was this the friend they had been talking about before? The one that Alfonse had lost?

"I've asked you two not to dwell on Zacharias' disappearance. We did the best we could. But I suppose that we owe an explanation to our friend Kiran here," Anna decided.

"That's fine. I owe you guys an explanation too," she said. "About Dancing Queen's true power. Could... could you go first? I just... I need time to prepare."

"Of course. Some time ago, we lost a member of the Order of Heroes whose name was Zacharias," Anna began. "Zacharias was a bold fighter and a great comrade. Then one day, he vanished during a battle. We've searched for him, but to no avail. Now, before we sink into despair, let's leave this be for now. Kiran had something to tell us as well, right?"

Curling in on herself, Kiran's voice barely reached above a whisper. "You can't tell anyone about this," she warned. "Absolutely no one else can find out about this. Not even the other tacticians. If someone figures out the true extent of my abilities, they can counter them and I'll be as good as dead. Please, swear to me that you will tell no one of this, no matter who asks."

They could all feel the fear coming off of her; she was truly terrified about someone finding out. "We won't tell a soul," Alfonse promised. "I swear on the blood of Askr that I will say nothing of this."

"Me too. You can trust me, Kiran," Sharena agreed.

"I wouldn't want to give your tactical advantage away to anyone. You know I won't say a word," Anna added.

Some of the tension left the air at those words. "Thank you," she breathed, relieved. "As you probably know, that thing that happened with Ryoma... that was me. I also used it back in the World of Mystery, to hide the fact that you two were breaking through the other side of the wall. I've also used it around the castle occasionally, just to hide if I don't want to talk to people or I don't want someone seeing me in a certain location."

"Oh, Princess Camilla mentioned that. She said you two were talking and you just disappeared," Sharena told them.

Kiran took a deep breath, ready to confess her most heavily-guarded secret for the first time in her life. "That... was Dancing Queen's true power; the ability to alter perception."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New notes on Dancing Queen will not be added quite yet. The explanation will come after the cliffhanger. I know; I'm awful. :)


	8. Seeing is Believing

"Alter... perception?" Alfonse repeated. "I'm afraid I don't understand what that means."

"Figures," Kiran sighed, tension leaving her body. It seemed finally getting the weight off of her chest made her feel quite a bit better. "I'll try to explain it a little better. To 'perceive' something is to know that it exists. I can change what people perceive if my Stand or I can make eye contact with them. It's usually my Stand since eye contact is so uncomfortable for me. Thankfully, I don't need to maintain eye contact to keep it working. Since Arrival was stuck on the other side of the wall and Dancing Queen can't move too far away from me, I had to get close enough for her to lock eyes with Ryoma."

"And that's how you threw off his aim?" he pressed.

She nodded. "I made it look like you were just a little bit to the right. It was all I had time to do that wouldn't look too suspicious. Just making myself or someone else vanish is easier, but he'd know that something was up and the only target left would be me. I needed to stop his sword first." With that, she disappeared, startling Alfonse.

"Kiran? Where did you go?" he asked.

Sharena just looked confused. "Alfonse, she's right there. She didn't move at all," she told him.

"Do you get it?" Kiran continued, her voice still coming from where she had been. "I'm still here; you just can't see me." A second later, she reappeared right next to Sharena. "I can make it look like I'm somewhere else, too, but I can't do anything about my voice unless I move Arrival over there and speak through her instead." Another Kiran then appeared right next to Anna. "I can make someone see any kind of image, but it's easiest to use myself because I know myself so well." Another moment, and a second Alfonse was sitting where Kiran had been. "I can make something look like something else, too, but I have to know what it looks like. These are all examples of altering perception."

"That's... absolutely incredible," Alfonse told her, making her flush with pride.

"Well, it's not perfect," she admitted. "There are quite a few weaknesses. I can only alter sight, not the other senses. If you were to reach out for me while I was invisible, you'd still be able to touch me. A sharp pain will provide enough of a shock to break the ability. If someone were to bite their lip or step on a rock or something, my hold over them would break." Testing it for himself, Alfonse bit his lower lip. Kiran abruptly reappeared right where she had been before, and the other Kirans vanished.

"If I don't take the environment into account, one of my illusions might do something stupid like run through a solid object, giving me away. The more things I try to make or cover up, the more I need to focus on, so hiding tracks to prevent us from being followed is impossible because I'd have to memorize and erase every single individual track. Direct eye contact is absolutely necessary to start it; if someone's eyes are obscured because they're wearing a mask or glasses or something, it won't work. I can't affect a blind person at all. Finally, my limit is five people at a time. I tried six once to test my limits, and not only did it not work, I got a splitting headache and my eyes started to bleed."

"Still, that's amazing!" Anna encouraged. "The fact that you've got such a good idea of your limits must mean that you're quite experienced with that power."

"Running from bullies for most of your life gives you a lot of practice," she shrugged. "That's why I'm so good at hiding."

"You're even more amazing than I thought!" Sharena encouraged. "Really, Kiran, you're so much greater than you think!"

If only she could feel the same confidence that Sharena seemed to have. "Well, if you say so..."

\--------------------------------------------

"Kiran, can I talk to you alone for a moment?"

Puzzled, she turned to face Takumi. He seemed troubled by something, but she hadn't noticed anything that could have caused it. "Okay. Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just... there's something you need to know." Well, that wasn't ominous at all. Kiran made her way back to her quarters, the place where she felt the safest. If she needed to run somewhere safe, she could just rush into her room and lock the door. Spells had been cast on it that prevented anyone from entering unless she gave them express permission, which she was truly thankful for. She didn't think she'd have to use it, though; this was Takumi, her first real friend ever. She could trust him.

"So, what is it?" she pressed, hoping she could help.

Takumi looked guilty for a moment, which set off a few alarm bells. "Well... back at camp earlier, I... look, I wasn't trying to! But I got back early and I naturally have really good hearing because I spend all my time hunting, so... I overheard what you were talking about earlier. That secret that you didn't want anyone to know," he admitted. Kiran went pale, cursing herself. Why hadn't she sent up Arrival to keep an eye out and make sure no one was listening in?! Who else knew?! "Don't worry; I haven't told anyone, and I won't if you don't want me to, okay? No one else heard; I made sure of that. I just thought that it was only fair to tell you that I knew."

She took a deep breath, calming herself down. "Thank you," she breathed, still a bit shaken up that her secret had been found out so easily.

"Look, I'm the last person who should be telling you this, but you don't need to be so scared of trusting people with this," he told her. "You know they wouldn't try anything to hurt you."

"I do, it's just... I'm just so used to the idea of hiding it from everyone. It'll take time for me to open up and confess like this," she sighed. "I could only do it earlier because I was backed into a corner."

"I get it; I'm the same way. It's hard for me to start trusting people," he assured. "I'm not saying trust them with it immediately. I'm saying that it would be a good idea to work on that."

"You trusted me pretty quickly," she pointed out.

"Well, you told me about that Stand of yours without me having to interrogate you. I figured you had to be pretty trustworthy after that," he admitted.

Smiling, Kiran gave her dear friend a hug. "Thank you so much, Takumi," she said. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

\--------------------------------------------

"What an accomplishment, freeing the World of Blazing! Well done, everyone."

Sharena looked over at their tactician, slightly concerned. "Is it just me, or do you seem a bit quiet, Kiran? I mean, quieter than usual. Is it about the other day?" she asked.

"Kind of," she admitted. "Not my confession, though. I was thinking about yours."

"So you were thinking about what troubles me, too. Our missing comrade, Zacharias," Anna noted. Kiran nodded. "The further we get, the more it bothers me that Zacharias is nowhere to be found. I hate losing anyone, but it hits Alfonse and Sharena harder. They were all friends since childhood."

"What was he like?" Kiran asked, curious. "And what happened?"

"Zacharias was more than just a skilled lancer. He was kind and as loyal a friend as you can imagine," Alfonse started, wistful. "When he vanished, we split up in search of him, taking different gateways to different worlds. We looked everywhere. But we never found him, and he never returned. We even had the wild notion that Veronica had closed the gate to the world where we'd been battling. For how then could he ever come back by himself? Only we royals of Askr could open the way again. We went to that world most of all, searching and scouring, but... nothing. That was the World of Awakening."

"Oh, I remember that place. That's where we fought Chrom, right?" she asked.

"Correct. Perhaps we should search there once more - with you?" he suggested. "You've helped us make so many gains since you arrived. I suggest that we give it one last try."

Kiran tugged at her hood nervously. "I don't know if I'd be of much help," she admitted. "Arrival's searching ability only works if I know exactly what the target looks like. It's been a while since you last saw him, right? You'd have no idea how much his appearance will have changed. Any description you could give me of his appearance wouldn't work. But... I suppose I could at least give it a try."

"You will? Thank you so much!" Sharena cheered, hugging her. Kiran tensed, but didn't pull away. Sharena had so much faith in her; Kiran hoped beyond hope that she wouldn't let her down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Information Added:  
> Stand Name: Dancing Queen (Arrival)  
> Music Reference: Dancing Queen by ABBA (from the album Arrival)  
> Stand Master: Kiran
> 
> Stats: Main Body (Arrival)  
> Destructive Power: D (E)  
> Speed: C (B)  
> Range: D, 2 meters (B, 25 meters)  
> Durability: D (E)  
> Precision: B (B)  
> Developmental Potential: B
> 
> Stand Ability: Visual Perception  
> 1\. Scouting: Dancing Queen possesses two bodies; one humanoid (Dancing Queen), and one snake scout (Arrival). Each of these bodies can create a maximum of 100 eyes across them. However, if any of the eyes are damaged by an attack, Kiran's eyes will be damaged as well, so the more she makes, the easier a target she becomes. She can see through these eyes in order to spy on distant targets or look in many different directions. It's hard to process information coming from many eyes at once, so too many eyes can make it difficult for her to keep track of what she's looking at. Closing her own eyes helps her to focus somewhat.  
> As the two bodies are still a single Stand, they have a connection. If Kiran is keeping an eye out for a specific target, she can have Arrival 'watch out' for it. If Arrival sees what Kiran is looking for, it can signal Dancing Queen. However, Kiran must constantly picture the target in her mind for this to work; if she falters, the signal might get jumbled up, and Arrival will not know to signal Dancing Queen.  
> 2\. Alter Perception: Dancing Queen has the ability to alter a person's perception through visual input. When the Stand or the user makes eye contact with up to five targets, they can change what the person sees, essentially causing hallucinations. Because they directly affect the brain, maintaining eye contact is not necessary, but initial eye contact is. The user is unable to create something that she cannot imagine, she must constantly pay attention to the environment or she will give herself away, and because it works by visual input, those who cover their eyes or are blind are unaffected by this power. Other senses are not affected, so sounds, smells, or touches can also give her away. A shock to the system, such as a sudden pain, will startle someone enough to break the effect.


	9. Showdown

"After all that - still, nothing?" Alfonse sighed, frustrated.

"Where are you, Zacharias? Where?!" Sharena cried, heartbroken. "He taught me all I know about lances, and I've hoped he could see how much I've improved! But no matter how many battles I fight... and how long we look for him... I'm never going to see him again, am I?"

"Stop your wailing, Sharena! We're on a mission, and I won't have you acting like a child!" Anna scolded.

"Sorry, Commander," she mumbled.

"You too, Alfonse! Wipe that sorry look off your face. What would Zacharias say if he saw this?"

"My apologies, Commander," he apologized.

"Besides, if anyone here should be heartbroken... it's me. I'm the commanding officer," she admitted. "Zacharias was my responsibility. If he is dead, I will be the one to bear the grief. I need you all to stay focused on our fight. We won't put Zacharias behind us, but we must keep our eye on the threat right in our path. Princess Veronica! She is surely scheming as we speak. Now, let's return home."

Kiran bowed her head, equally upset. "I'm so sorry I wasn't able to help..." she cried.

Alfonse put a hand on her shoulder gently. "That's alright. It was a small chance, anyway. You did what you could. But the Commander is right; we have to focus on Embla right now."

"I guess..." she mumbled, still despondent.

\--------------------------------------------

The next three days were quiet, with no movement from Embla. Kiran spent those days locked in either her room or the library. No one had seen her at all, but Alfonse knew that she could very well have been using her Stand to make sure of that. She would even sneak into the kitchen at night to grab food so that she didn't have to interact with anyone. She had been taking what she perceived as her failure very poorly. Now more than ever, he regretted asking for Kiran's help with finding Zacharias. He hadn't anticipated just how upset she'd be if they didn't manage to find him. He wanted to apologize, but she was nowhere to be found.

He was just about to give up on today's search when he heard quiet sobbing coming from the training grounds. No one was supposed to be out there that late; why had Kiran gone there? There were plenty of more private places where she could hide if need be. Quietly, he turned the corner and looked. There was Kiran, sobbing into Chrom's arms. He was holding her as gently as he could, trying to comfort her. Immediately, Alfonse felt a little jealous. Hadn't he told her that she could come to him if she needed to talk about something?

But when she finally managed to get words out through her tears, he understood why she didn't. "Alfonse must h-hate me... H-He trusted me to do this and... I-I screwed up," she hiccuped.

"It wasn't your fault," Chrom assured. "Sometimes, you can do as much as you can to prepare, and things still don't go right. Prince Alfonse understands that."

"How... c-can you be so sure?" she whimpered.

"Because the same thing happened to me," he admitted. "I had an older sister, Emmeryn. She was abducted by our neighbors in Plegia, and Robin spent days putting together a plan to rescue her. Everything fell apart at the last minute, and Emm... sacrificed herself to try and end the fighting. Robin tried to take all the blame for what happened, but I wouldn't allow that. I never once blamed Robin for what happened." Kiran took a few shaky breaths, trying to stem the flow of tears and get her breath back. "Are you feeling a little better?"

"Yeah. Thanks... I really needed this," she admitted. "I think I'm good for now. I'll probably feel better in the morning after a good night's sleep."

"Alright. I'm just glad I could help. See you tomorrow, Kiran." Alfonse quietly departed, returning to his quarters for the night. He wasn't the right person to help her through that.

\--------------------------------------------

The next morning, Kiran actually showed herself, and even talked to a few people. She certainly looked better. That was perfect timing, because Anna had returned with a grave look on her face. "Gather around, everyone. I'm afraid I have terrible news," she warned. "The Emblian Empire is mounting another attack on our kingdom. They have more Heroes in their ranks. Some are from the World of Mystery. Other Heroes are from the World of Binding and the World of Blazing."

"I guess it's actually a good thing I've been holed up in the library doing research all this time," Kiran noted.

"What? Mystery, Binding, and Blazing? But our Order liberated all of those worlds from them!" Alfonse protested, shocked.

"Those blasted Emblians must have snuck back into those worlds and taken them over again!" Sharena realized.

"Their Heroes are headed for our capital. We need to stop them before they conquer Askr!" Anna ordered.

"Alright, guys, we've got a big force coming towards us!" Kiran yelled, taking charge. "They're going to be able to cover a lot more ground than we are. We'll probably need to split up to protect as much territory as we can. But if we divide our forces too thinly, we'll be wiped out. We have the home field advantage here; we know the terrain better than they do. Robin, Takumi, Leo, we need to put together ideal teams for dealing with the terrain close to the capital, and make sure these squads can work together efficiently. We don't have a lot of time to do this, so let's get to brainstorming."

\--------------------------------------------

"Hm. That guy up ahead on the wyvern kind of looks like you, Minerva," Kiran noted as they marched. Her squad of Minerva, Hector, Roy, and Jakob were the vanguard of this assault. Robin, Leo, and Takumi were put in charge of commanding their own squads for defense. Of course, the higher-ups came with her to make sure nothing went wrong.

"Does he have an arrogant look on his face?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah. I don't even need to get close with Arrival to see that," she answered.

Minerva curled her lip in distaste. "My elder brother, Michalis. We... came to a disagreement on how Macedon should be ruled," she explained. "It ended with me having to strike him down with my own hands."

"Being royalty must be hard," Kiran sighed. "So much responsibility on your shoulders, and if you can't handle it correctly, you're at risk of being killed by those who don't agree with how you do things."

"Indeed. And I do not have what is required to be a ruler," she admitted shamefully. "Despite his actions, my brother is more suited to the throne than I am."

"From what I've read in the library, the deck was stacked against you from the start," Kiran assured, getting a puzzled look. "It's a gambling term. A 'stacked deck' refers to a situation rigged in your favor. You had no points in your favor, so it's no surprise things turned out the way they did. There was a bit of poor handling on your part, sure, but it was mostly circumstances that you would have no way to control."

"Thank you. Perhaps I could better rule with a tactician like you at my side," she said.

Kiran tugged at her hood and blushed. "Maybe..." she mumbled.

\--------------------------------------------

Roy gripped his sword tighter at the sight of their next opponents. "You know them?" Kiran asked.

"King Zephiel of Bern, and one of his generals, Narcian," he answered.

"'Zephiel'? That same little prince from Bern?" Hector asked.

"The same," Kiran told him. "According to the records, things went downhill for him after the assassination attempt you stopped. His father's abuse and continued assassination attempts led to that sweet little kid becoming a nihilist who genuinely believes that the world would be better off ruled by dragons. Tragic, really. Desmond deserves to rot for all he did."

"So it was him who caused all the suffering your generation had to go through? Maybe it would have been better if we hadn't saved him," Hector mused.

"You can't know that for sure," Kiran told him. "Would you have been able to get the Fire Emblem if he'd died? I think it's a good thing that you saved him; it's just that his father was far too horrible to account for. Also, as an expert on the matter, his personality change could be attributed to the poison he was given. Poisons, high fevers, and certain illnesses can damage a person's mind, drastically altering their personalities. It may have happened to an ancient emperor from my world, but because he's long dead, we can't know for sure."

"How can you tell, then?" Roy asked, curious.

"Historical accounts. He was originally a good emperor, and his people loved him. Six months into his reign, he fell ill. No one knows if he just got sick, if he was already ill and just had a bad bout of whatever he had, or if someone tried to poison him. People are still debating what kind of sickness he could have had to this day. Either way, his personality became extremely erratic afterwards. He gave away lots of money to those who needed it, which the senate did not approve of, but he'd also execute people without trial, and many of his family members were either killed or exiled by him. The most notable bout of insanity was when he made his favorite horse a priest. Eventually, he was assassinated."

"So, you're saying Zephiel's not to blame?" Hector accused.

"Not necessarily. I'm just saying that there are a few extra factors that need to be considered in this case."

\--------------------------------------------

"That woman in blue is staring at me," Kiran noted, ducking behind Hector. Hopefully, his size would be able to shield her from that gaze.

"That's Ursula. She's an assassin from the Black Fang," he warned. "I think she's noticed that you're the tactician here."

"And a weak link, no doubt," she mumbled. "I know how assassins work. They look for the weak point and strike decisively."

"You seem to know quite a lot about assassins," Jakob noted.

"Assassin is the most popular job choice for Stand users," she explained. "It's easy to see why. The job pays really well. You have a high success rate because it's very unlikely that your target will have a Stand, so they have no way to defend themselves. And because most Stand users had isolated childhoods, they often won't develop a proper sense of empathy, so killing people is much easier."

"You'd be a good assassin, Kiran, or at least a good spy" Hector noted. "You have a particular talent for not being seen."

"I'd be way too skittish to pull something like that off," she disagreed. "They have to constantly be on guard, right? The second someone sneaks up on me, I scream in terror. I have the talent, but I don't have the right temperament for it. Besides, the second a Stand-using assassin gets caught, it's over. It only takes one botched job to end up on the Most Wanted list. Unless you live in Italy; there's apparently an entire criminal syndicate of Stand users there."

"How distasteful," Jakob scoffed.

"Shouldn't someone do something about that?" Roy asked.

"No way; they've consolidated so much power and influence in the area that taking them down would cause a dangerous power vacuum in the criminal underworld. Basically, every single one of the weaker crooks and gangs in the area would do whatever it took to fill in the new top spot. A lot of innocent people get hurt or killed whenever these kinds of things happen," she explained. "Besides, according to what I've heard, they're pretty good to the people under their protection. They just deal with things in a less than legal manner, which includes people getting killed. Kind of like how the Black Fang used to be, I guess."

"Based on what I've heard from a few former members, I can agree with you on that," Hector said.

\--------------------------------------------

"You again. Turn back - now."

Kiran gritted her teeth. That masked guy again; the absolute last person she wanted to run into right now. He'd holed up in an abandoned fort, and she could see a few enemies lurking in the shadows waiting to ambush them the second they stepped in.

"So you _are_ with the empire! Why do you hide behind that damnable mask?" Alfonse demanded.

"I am not with Embla. Nor am I with you. Still, I'll say it one last time. Turn back - now!" he warned.

"Never. Stand aside, or we will break through, one way or another!" Alfonse snapped back.

"Okay, so he's got a lot of ranged attackers with him," Kiran noted. "He himself has a blue tome. There's an archer, two healers, and an armored enemy in there. It's a straight shot, but the first one to go in there is going to get hit hard on all sides." She covered her mouth to hide her smirk, but Dancing Queen had no such reservations. "Jakob, rally resistance for Hector and stick close to him. Hector, sic 'em."

\--------------------------------------------

"I... I can't keep fighting. You Order of Heroes people... Don't you realize you're on the wrong track?" He was surprisingly talkative for someone who just took an axe to the chest. Kiran was a bit surprised; she honestly hadn't been sure that Hector would be capable of holding back. "Veronica's imperial forces aren't invading your capital. They're going to your summoning ruins - to destroy them."

"What? Why?" Alfonse asked. Kiran immediately sent Arrival as far as she could go, searching for any movement in the direction of the ruins.

"She wishes to put an end to your summoner's power," he explained. "Do you understand what that would mean - for everything? If so, you should get to the ruins fast."

"Why are you revealing her plans to us?" the prince questioned.

"That is my secret to keep." And with that, he roused his horse and took off faster than any of them would be able to move.

"Wait, get back here!" Anna demanded, but he was already too far to hear.

"Of course," Kiran grumbled. "Why wear a mask if you aren't going to keep at least half a dozen secrets?"

"He's gone. Well, Alfonse? What did you make of all that?" Anna asked.

"I don't know for sure. But we should head for the ruins," he decided.

"What if it's a trap?" Sharena wondered.

"I have a strange feeling he wasn't lying, at least about Veronica wanting to destroy those ruins. We need to put a stop to that, Kiran!" he ordered.

"Got it. And I'm pretty sure he was telling the truth, too; I can see someone moving just out of my range," she reported. "If it turns out he was lying and she really was going for the capital, that's what we have the other squads for. We need to hurry!"

\--------------------------------------------

"Yep, it's her!" Kiran warned as they crested a hill. The ruins were just at the bottom of the slope. "I can see her pretty clearly from up here. Xander's with her, too. She also brought a swordsman, a blue mage, and a troubadour. She's right up on the front lines this time; looks like she's actually going to fight instead of just barking orders."

Veronica quickly took notice of the Askrans preparing to cut her off. "Now, just how did you know that we'd be here? How vexing. But if you've come to play, then I'll provide the game. So, change of plans! Why raze these summoning ruins when I can simply destroy you, Kiran? Now, let us begin!"

Dancing Queen moved into a battle position, ready to protect Kiran at a moment's notice. Arrival took her position above the battlefield, paying special attention to Veronica. "You'll find I'm not so easy to get rid of!" Kiran snapped, despite the fact that she was shaking in her boots.

\--------------------------------------------

The battle waged on, with swords swinging and shots of magic flying everywhere on both sides. Arrival was constantly changing position, looking for any weak points they could easily take advantage of. Instead, the snake hissed a loud warning; Veronica was heading right for Kiran. This was not going to be a repeat of last time. The princess prepared to toss her back with a spell like she had before, but this time, Dancing Queen was prepared. The spell hit the Stand dead on, but because she was braced for the impact, she didn't budge. Kiran smirked at the shocked look on Veronica's face as the spell fizzled out on her Stand's chest. Only a Stand could hurt another Stand, so while Dancing Queen could get thrown back from the force if she wasn't prepared, Veronica could not wound her. Hector took advantage of her distraction and sent her flying with a swing of his axe.

"Not this time, princess!" she howled joyously. Taking another look around the battlefield only made her feel even better. Slowly but surely, they were beating back the enemy and forcing a retreat.

"Why do I keep losing?" she hissed. "It's really not fair! Your kingdom has everything. So many Heroes... a summoner... a pretty realm that's happy, healthy, and wealthy! Why do you keep tormenting me? I have nothing - nothing that matters!"

"'Nothing'? So you'd cast aside your own empire so thoughtlessly? Have you even given a thought to your people?" Kiran scolded. "A proper ruler should put their people first, but here you say that they're nothing?! You selfish little brat!"

Glaring, Veronica skulked off. Xander, noticing her injuries, picked her up and let her on his horse's back. Kiran managed a little smile; maybe someone as experienced as him would be able to convince her. "They're retreating. But I doubt this will be the last we see of Embla," Anna warned.

"I don't understand that Veronica," Sharena sighed. "Her father, the Emperor of Embla, was the one who hoarded Heroes and warred with Askr. When he died, Embla declared that his war was over. We had peace, until she started it all up again!"

"Her father was very popular among their people," Alfonse explained. "He had ambitions to make Embla powerful and prosperous. His dream was their dream - so much so that when he died... some of his people took their lives. Such was the darkness behind Embla's imperial glory."

"False glory like that means nothing," Kiran hissed. "Just fifteen minutes of fame that will eventually fade away. True glory comes from compassion. You don't look for fame; you just do what you can for those around you. The greatest Heroes spoken of in those books in the library, and even in my world, were those who fought for the sake of others, not those who threw everything away in a pointless war. Marth, Alm, Sigurd, Seliph, Leif, Roy, Eliwood, Hector, Lyn, Eirika, Ephraim, Ike, Micaiah, Chrom, Robin, Corrin and his families; those are examples of true glory."

"Hope reigned again when the crown went to his wife, the Empress, who had no dreams of conquest," Anna continued. "Veronica is not her daughter, however, but rather that of his first wife - the previous Empress. And Veronica, one day, began going into other worlds of her own accord, just like her father. She wanted to invade Askr again too."

"The people of Embla, even its top advisers, love her for it. They have given her their full support," Alfonse went on. "They see Veronica as the true heir of Embla, carrying her father's blood and dreaming his dream."

"But though Veronica has their support, she seems so... lonely," Sharena noted.

"You saw that, too?" Kiran asked, getting a nod from the princess.

"You think she's hoarding Heroes and invading Askr because she's lonely?" Alfonse questioned. "What dark days lie ahead of us if that's the truth."

"It's a possibility. She is quite young to rule an empire," Kiran said thoughtfully.

"Please, remain with us, Kiran? I fear that our war with Embla will soon challenge us like never before. The Order of Heroes needs you," he pled.

"I told you that my home is here, didn't I, Alfonse?" she answered, smiling. "I'm staying. If it's okay with you... could I stay... even after the war ends?" she asked tentatively.

"Of course."

"Let's head back to the castle, everyone," Anna suggested. Arrival hissed in warning, leading Kiran to tense up and look in the direction the snake was looking. Anna turned along with her, confused. "Hold on. Someone approaches."

It was the masked man, but he didn't seem threatening at the moment. Kiran relaxed her guard, but kept her Stand out and ready to protect her, just in case. She wouldn't be able to use her ability on him, but she'd at least be able to punch him in the face if things got rough. He got down off of his horse and faced the group. "Greetings," he started.

"You again! I suppose that we owe you thanks," Alfonse thanked. "Without your warning, the ruins would have been-"

"Say no more. That is not why I have come here," he warned. "I heard from the Heroes in the World of Awakening that you're searching for someone."

"Yes, my good friend Zacharias," Alfonse answered.

"You can stop searching. You'll never see him again," he said firmly.

"What? You know of Zacharias? Where did you see him?" he asked desperately.

"That's all I have to say on this matter," he said simply.

"And, of course, you drop another cryptic message on us before leaving us to stir in our thoughts," Kiran groaned. "Well, _Mr. Mystery_ , thanks for the hot tip."

As she had predicted, he immediately turned and left. "Wait! Don't go!" Alfonse called.

"No, Alfonse! You mustn't follow him," Anna warned. "We don't know his intentions. It could be a trap - this time!"

"But, Commander!" he protested.

"You have your orders. We don't know if he's friend or foe. I'm certain we will see him again in due time," she assured.

"If he knows anything about Zacharias..." he trailed off. "But, fine. I'll follow your command. I only hope that my friend is safe... wherever he is."

Meanwhile, Kiran was watching the masked man's back suspiciously. A theory was buzzing around in her mind, but... no, she wouldn't be able to speak of this to the others. If she was proven wrong, however small the chance may be, it would hurt them. But the next time they met, she swore she would watch him like a hawk. Something was up with that guy... "I'm gonna call him Stan," she said.

"What?" Everyone was looking at her, confused.

"Well, he didn't give us his name, and 'the masked man' is too long in my mind. I need something to call him, and I got the idea from when I called him 'Mr. Mystery' earlier," she said. "You wouldn't understand the reference even if I explained it, so I'll just leave it at that."

Maybe she hadn't quite failed after all...


	10. Grand Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's mostly filler, but I still hope you enjoy it.

Grand Hero Battles quickly became a point of contention among the Order. Most of the so-called 'Heroes' that got dragged in from those were former enemies of some of the recruited Heroes. They'd argue to Kiran a lot, but the only answer she'd give was "Better they work with us instead of helping the enemy." The occasional fight would still break out, but Kiran, having become a little bolder since striking back against Veronica, would get between them and stare at the aggressor silently until they backed off. Funny how having a Stand with glowing red eyes could enhance her natural creepiness.

Thankfully, the spring festival started in the middle of all that chaos. That helped to defuse the tension in the air, at least a little. A few laughs were had at the expense of some Heroes after running into their counterparts dressed in cute outfits for the holidays. The laughs continued when Kiran found out that she was able to summon them. Lucina didn't seem to get the joke (as usual), Camilla was running with it with no shame at all, and although Xander wasn't there, everyone got a good laugh out of his counterpart trying to explain that his outfit was Camilla's idea and that Corrin thought it was cute. Chrom wasn't so lucky, and ended up going into hiding for a few days until the teasing died down.

But the tension was still there, and Kiran knew she had to deal with it, one way or another.

\--------------------------------------------

Narcian was difficult from the start, arrogant as he was. He never disobeyed any of her tactical commands, but he would constantly boast about how strong and great and clever and perfect he was. According to Roy, that was mostly hot air, and he was just a dirty coward. Kiran's personal opinion was that 'it's not arrogance if you can back it up', but he couldn't even manage to do that. He wasn't even actively attacking anyone, just being annoying with his constant grandstanding.

The only time she'd ever run into a real problem with him was when he tried to get back at Clarine for humiliating him before. Not only had Kiran gotten in the way and told him off by yelling "NO MEANS NO!" in his face while Dancing Queen jabbed him in the chest with a finger, Clarine had smugly told him off again for daring to compare himself to her dear brother Klein. Kiran hoped beyond measure that Klein would show up soon; someone sane needed to act as a buffer between these two, and the perfect choice would be someone who Clarine respected and who could fight Narcian off easily.

Everyone quickly learned that above all else, Narcian was after attention. If they ignored him, he'd just get all huffy and leave. Even Raigh, as vindictive as he was towards Bern, was able to be convinced that this would be the ultimate petty revenge. Well, that was one situation mostly handled.

\--------------------------------------------

Robin was one of very few exceptions to the rule. Everyone had been a bit surprised to see a girl Robin, but after seeing a boy Corrin and a girl Corrin, they got over it pretty quickly. She and Chrom became fast friends, of course, and she could often be found discussing tactics with her male counterpart. Kiran was just happy to have another teacher, and Robin in turn was fascinated by Dancing Queen and the kinds of advantages Kiran could get with it. She was happy to add her to the list of tacticians they had on staff.

One thing that this Robin encouraged was Kiran being able to defend herself more easily. Kiran agreed; it would be helpful if she wasn't stuck cowering behind everyone else all the time. However, they also had to take into account that if she got too distracted, she might miss an enemy sneaking up on them. It was eventually decided that the best move tactically would be for Kiran to be prepared to defend herself, and only attack if she needed to. Every now and again, the two could be found practicing, with Robin casting spells and Kiran using Dancing Queen to block them. The more she practiced, the more confident she became.

\--------------------------------------------

Ursula would not stop watching Kiran and it was freaking her out. The assassin always seemed to be looking at her whenever Kiran noticed her presence. Thankfully, she summoned Jaffar a few days later, and he kept a close eye on her to make sure she wasn't plotting anything. Nino was also quite helpful when it came to getting her mind off of things.

"Ursula and I didn't talk much," Nino admitted one day while Kiran was helping her learn how to read. "I know she liked my mo- er, Sonia. She wasn't really nice to me, but she wasn't mean, either. She was just following orders."

"Yeah, well, a lot of people have used that excuse over the years when it comes to committing horrible atrocities," Kiran sighed. "It's not a good excuse at all."

Eventually, a day came where the two ended up alone. Kiran finally had enough and decided to just ask. "Why do you keep watching me?!" she snapped, Dancing Queen at the ready.

To her surprise, the assassin merely chuckled. "Really, is that what all of this tension has been about?" she asked, amused. "It's simple, really. I've taken an interest in you. You don't fight yourself, but I can still see how strong you are. And you've only continued to grow stronger the longer you've been here."

"So, is that why you followed Sonia before? Because she was strong?" Kiran questioned.

"More than strong," the assassin insisted. "She was perfect. I can see that same potential for perfection in you, Summoner, with that mysterious power you possess. It's admirable, really. As long as you continue to prove yourself worthy, I will continue to follow you. Those were the terms of our contract from the very beginning."

Kiran sighed, feeling a bit relieved. At least her motivation was easy to understand, so keeping her in line wouldn't be too difficult. And if things went wrong, Jaffar was there to keep an eye on her. She wasn't going to be letting her guard down anytime soon, but she wasn't going to be spending all of her time on her toes anymore either.

\--------------------------------------------

Michalis was as arrogant as ever, but not as laughably as Narcian. He was someone who had to be taken seriously. He was far more intimidating as well, and didn't seem to think too highly of Kiran's naturally skittish disposition. He and Marth would debate on occasion, but at the very least, they weren't outright hostile. Minerva was making every attempt to avoid him, and he wasn't exactly going out of his way to talk to her either. However, there was one person he was particularly going out of his way to avoid: Maria. The young princess seemed particularly upset that her big brother was avoiding her. Seeing the poor girl sad tugged at Kiran's heartstrings, which only made her angrier with Michalis. How dare he hurt her like this?!

After Maria came to her in tears one night, Kiran had enough. She went right up to him, Dancing Queen at the ready, and let the Stand slap him right across the face. "Care to explain yourself?!" she snapped.

"I don't have to explain myself to the likes of you," he sneered.

"The hell you don't. Are you really so selfish that you don't see how much you're hurting your sister? I get that you and Minerva don't get along, but Maria has nothing to do with that," she hissed. "I understand that you're angry at yourself and you're trying to punish yourself, but can you at least do it in a way that doesn't hurt her?!"

He actually seemed to falter for a moment before glaring at her once again. "My family is none of your concern," he shot back, storming off.

The next day, Kiran had been heading to the library for some more research when she spotted Maria with a spring in her step. Curious, Kiran followed her with Arrival, doing her best to stay hidden. She went all the way to the courtyard, where she practically jumped on her big brother, crying from sheer happiness. He flinched, but he didn't yell at her or push her away. Kiran smiled; of course he wouldn't straight up tell her that she'd gotten to him. He was far too proud for that.

\--------------------------------------------

Things with her and Navarre were just awkward. He didn't like to make conversation, and she was still getting used to the idea of starting them. She couldn't interact with him without Caeda there as a buffer to make things a little less awkward. Was this what starting a conversation with her used to be like? No wonder people were so weird around her.

\--------------------------------------------

Zephiel was as intimidating as ever. While Kiran certainly felt sympathetic towards him due to his circumstances, that certainly didn't change the fact that she was terrified of being alone with him. A lot of people had been unhappy with him showing up; Raigh had been particularly enraged, and had locked himself in his room and wouldn't come out for three days. Thankfully, he mostly kept to himself. He wasn't interested in spending any more time then necessary around humans, being the kind of person he was.

Still, he watched the little summoner from a distance. He watched as she slowly worked her way out of her shell to talk to people. He watched as she had some days where she just couldn't be around people, and she would hide herself away and read. Most significantly, he watched as she made an effort to be kind to everyone, even people she was nervous or uncomfortable around. It didn't make sense to him at all. She was only human; how was she capable of this kindness?

It reached a head when the two ended up running into each other on a quiet night. He thought she would turn tail and flee, but she just stood there, head down, shuffling her feet and fiddling with her hands. That Stand of hers gently grasped her hand to calm her down. "I just wanted to say... you deserved better," she finally choked out. "Your father got what was coming to him. ...T-That's all I had to say, really..."

He didn't respond, and she turned and fled to her room. Well, now, this was even more intriguing than before...

\--------------------------------------------

One thing they definitely had in common, however, was the fact that they all planned to honor the contract they had with her, despite any suspicions or complaints the others might have.


	11. Never Underestimate a Girl

Kiran had spent almost a week holed up in the library, looking for information on Embla. She'd never bothered to look before, but the letter Alfonse had received from Zacharias had sparked her interest. The only time she left was to get food, sleep, or when someone dragged her out for work or socialization. As expected, there was barely anything; there was no way Embla was going to give up any information to its enemies without a fight. But the gears in her head continued to turn. Her theory was looking more and more plausible, but she wasn't going to rush to any conclusions.

_For Zacharias to be able to get that letter to us, he'd have to have a way to get into and out of Embla and into other worlds without getting caught. I suppose he could just be really good at spying, but he'd also have to be able to guarantee a way back. If Embla shut the gate on him, he'd be stuck, so he'd have to be in a position where he could move around easily; the closer to the royalty, the better. And it would be all too easy to sneak around if they didn't think that he wasn't supposed to be there... There's also the fact that he was saying Veronica isn't the enemy... And then there's this mystery Prince Bruno he's investigating..._

"Kiran? Is your nose still buried in a book back here?" Alfonse teased.

"Oh, ha, ha, very funny," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Did you need something or was I just late for something?"

"We've got another situation. An invasion in the World of Shadows," he reported.

Kiran got up from her seat and walked briskly to the door. "Well, a tactician's work is never done. Let's get to it."

\--------------------------------------------

"I go through all this trouble to get a few new Heroes, and you take them away from me again!" Veronica snapped, frustrated. "Why, why, why?! What's the use? It's pointless. I just can't... I can't... I... I want you all to d-"

"Enough, Veronica! Return to the castle at once." Well, there was the very person she was looking for.

"Oh! Must I? All right." With that, she took off back to her kingdom, leaving them with the masked man. Again, he didn't seem threatening, but Kiran had Dancing Queen's fist clenched just in case.

"You again!" Alfonse shouted.

"Hello again, Stan," Kiran teased.

"W-What? That's not even close to my name," he told her, puzzled.

"Yeah, but you haven't told us what it was, or even gave us a clue, so I had to pick something to call you," she shrugged. "You wouldn't get it even if I explained it."

"Fine, then. I will give you one last warning. Get in our way, and I will be forced to kill you," he warned firmly.

"We will not back down, no matter how vicious the threat," Anna snapped back.

Just then, he fell to his knees, clutching his head. A chill ran up Kiran's spine; his threat level had just gone up substantially. He almost felt like a completely different person. Arrival hissed, coiled up around Kiran's arm almost tight enough to bruise. "Errgh... Askr... royals... death... death... Death to my enemy..." he groaned. As quickly as it had come, the fit subsided, leaving him shaken. "Y-You foolish people!" he yelled, shakily getting to his feet. "Leave us alone, or I swear that you will not survive our next encounter." Unlike before, when he'd departed almost silently and with a strong sense of purpose, this time, he took off in a panicked rush.

"Something definitely wasn't right there," Kiran warned, Arrival finally settling down. "Even my Stand was agitated. It almost felt like... he'd become someone else for a few moments."

"Can that happen?" Sharena asked.

"Yes, in certain circumstances. There was this whole article in the Stand database back in my world that discussed a theory on what happens if a Stand user has a split personality. They'd only found two so far, and one was due to Stand-induced amnesia. It seems that one personality will only be able to use a piece of the Stand's power, while the other can use the entire Stand. Essentially, the Stand itself was also broken into pieces. As a result, it felt like two different Stands for two different people. One body, two souls," she explained. "Not sure if a split personality is what's going on here, but at least it's something to consider. Also... whoever that other one is, they're dangerous."

\--------------------------------------------

"I need to vent!" Takumi jumped, startled. It was his turn to clean up the tactics room after their last meeting. He was supposed to be the only one here, but apparently Kiran had stuck around because she wanted to talk, or something.

"You don't need to shout!" he snapped, embarrassed about how she'd snuck up on him again. "Never thought I'd say that to you."

"Sorry," she mumbled, chastised. "I just really need to get this information off my chest, and there are certain people that I can't tell! I just really need to tell someone!"

"And you picked me? Okay, what do you want to talk about?"

"Ever since we got that note from Zacharias, I've been thinking about things," she started. "I've been trying to put together the pieces I've got to figure out what exactly is going on in Embla. There's one theory I've managed to put together that would possibly cover all of it, and even then, I'm still missing some pieces. I absolutely can't bring this up at the next meeting without proof, or someone could get hurt, especially if it turns out I'm wrong! But I really don't think I'm wrong, even if I don't have any proof yet, and- Ow!" Dancing Queen, having had enough of that, appeared and hit her user on the head with a closed fist. "I was rambling again, wasn't I?" Kiran asked, rubbing her bruise. Dancing Queen nodded firmly.

"It sounds to me like you need someone to go through your evidence with you and point out any holes that need filling," Takumi said, trying to calm her down. "So, what's your theory?"

Kiran ran through everything she'd put together that morning involving the contents of the note, the specific wording used, how he could get from world to world, and how close he would have to be to the royal family in order to make things work. "So, in conclusion, I think that Zacharias is that masked man who's been following us around," she summed up. "Based on what happened with him earlier, it's possible that he's also Prince Bruno. So, you get why I can't just go flinging that accusation around without any solid evidence, right? I need to get some kind of confirmation from him about all of this."

"If you're so sure about it, take the opportunity to interrogate him if you can catch him alone," Takumi suggested. "He can't see your Stand, right? So it's not like he can get away from you. But you have to plan it carefully; if Prince Alfonse catches you, you'll have to explain everything to him. I, for one, think your theory is plausible, but I agree that you need proof. Just be careful, okay? If he is Prince Bruno, there has to be a reason why he's calling himself the true enemy. Get any evidence that you can, then go for it."

\--------------------------------------------

It only took three days for everything to go to hell.

"Look alive, everyone! We have an emergency on our hands! Princess Veronica's forces are invading!" Anna warned.

Kiran was an absolute mess when she ran out to the courtyard. Her hood was down, she was half asleep, and she would have dropped Breidablik if Dancing Queen hadn't caught it. Why did Veronica have to invade so early in the morning? It should be a crime to be awake before ten o'clock... Well, her state was partly her own fault for that last all-nighter...

"Again? Such nerve, that one!" Sharena scoffed. "Which world is it this time?"

"Ours! Her forces have invaded Askr! They've broken through the border, and they're close by," Anna explained.

"You're joking, right? When did she even find the time to ensnare any more Heroes?" Sharena complained.

"We don't know. Though the Order of Heroes has been doing its best to keep an eye on her... we failed," Anna sighed. "That's not the worst of it, I'm afraid. The Hero she's contracted is said to be the strongest in all worlds..."

"The strongest of the Heroes? You can't mean..." Alfonse trailed off, looking shocked.

"I'm afraid I do. You may know him as the Radiant Hero... I'm talking about Ike," Anna confirmed.

"That's not good," Kiran cursed, looking more awake. "If Ike's there, Soren can't be too far behind. The guy's a genius tactician. We're going to need to bring at least one professional tactician with us. Dancing Queen can only do so much out there. Takumi, we're moving out! Grab your bow!"

\--------------------------------------------

Well, this day was going from bad to worse. Anna had told them that all they needed to do was hold the line, and Kiran could see why. Ike was on a whole other level than anyone they'd fought before. Everything was going reasonably okay until the moment she got Takumi to take a shot at Ike from behind a wall. She'd spotted a strange glowing crest pinned to his clothes, and wanted to see what exactly it did. Takumi was tough, so if something bad happened, he could handle it. Not to mention, she'd brought Azama for healing, so if it hurt him, she could just get him patched up.

"Takumi, are you sure you hit him head on?" she asked, worried.

"Of course I did!" he retorted, almost insulted.

"Well, then, we're in trouble. I was watching with Arrival the whole time. It didn't do a damn thing to him," she reported. "Are we seriously going to have to make a tactical retreat on our own turf?" Just as she was saying it, the invading force retreated. "Well, that was a close call."

"We managed to fend them off... for now," Alfonse panted, leaning against his sword.

"Barely! That Ike... the Radiant Hero... Is it me, or is he way too strong? So much so that it's just not fair!" Sharena complained.

"I can't argue," Alfonse agreed. "His skills speak to a life spent training for battle, and no one can match his tenacity... Can we win?" Alfonse asked, worried.

"Hey! Don't give up just yet!" Anna scolded. "Things may look dark right now, but that battle did teach us something."

"Right," Kiran agreed. "I think it was that crest he was wearing. It was glowing during the fight. But right before they retreated, it stopped."

"Right. Even though they had a huge advantage, our opponents fled," Anna agreed.

"Do you think-"

"Yes. Whatever power they have protecting them, it doesn't last very long," Anna confirmed. "I'm sure they'll attack again. We'd better get ready."

"I can use this time to start timing the effect," Kiran decided. "I started counting exactly when it stopped using Dancing Queen's eyes. With every second of time passing, another eye appears. I can make up to two hundred, so I don't need to worry about them running out anytime soon. Even if it does, I'll start closing them instead. When they come back and attack us again, I'll have a pretty good idea of how long it takes for that crest to recharge. If we know that, we can have time to prepare."

\--------------------------------------------

After dealing with the second wave, Kiran had calculated that the attacks would last about six minutes, with about a six minute cool-down between assaults. "Okay, the third wave should be arriving right about... now!" As if on cue, footsteps, wingbeats, and hoofbeats echoed through the forest ahead of them. "Looks like Titania's wearing the crest this round. Soren's hanging around too, but he's not protected. Looks like they only have the one crest. Oh? And look who it is; Stan."

"Wait! We have no wish to fight you," Alfonse protested. "In fact, I want to thank you for telling us about Princess Veronica's plan to destroy the ruins."

"You want to thank me? Ha! You don't understand a thing, do you?" he taunted.

"What?"

"I'm just trying to keep things interesting," he continued. "If my sister conquered Askr, she'd steal all the glory. Who wants that?"

"Your... sister?" Alfonse repeated, shocked.

"That's right. Veronica is my little sister. My name is Bruno. Speaking formally, you'd call me Prince Bruno of the Emblian Empire," he introduced. Aw, she couldn't call him Stan anymore... oh, well.

"Prince... Bruno? But..."

"That's right. Your rival. That gives us reason to fight to the death. And so we will," he declared.

"No it doesn't!" Kiran chimed in. "Rival means two people competing in an effort to improve. The word you're looking for is 'enemy'." _Well,_ she thought, _that's half-confirmation of my theory. Now I just need to see if the other half is true... But it is a little odd that he said 'rival', not 'enemy'._

"You stay out of this!" the Emblian prince snapped.

"Okay, with that crest protecting Titania, we can't win. We have to hold the line until they run for it! The crest just became active now; we just have to hang in there for six minutes!" Kiran ordered.

\--------------------------------------------

_"Go on. Keep fighting. No matter how hard you try, your resistance is meaningless. As long as our Heroes hold that ward, you stand no chance of winning."_

Bruno's boast was irritating Kiran to no end. She knew damn well that this was true. They needed to find where the Heroes were going to recharge the ward; then and only then could they strike back effectively. "We've managed to hold them off so far. But at this rate..." Alfonse panted, barely able to stand anymore. This was going nowhere fast. "We must find a way to turn the tide. But what can we-" Frustrated, Kiran turned, chasing after the retreating Heroes. "Kiran? Where are you going? Don't tell me that you-"

"It's the obvious solution," she shouted back. "They obviously have to go somewhere to have that ward replenished. If we can take them out before they manage that, we win! Now let's get a move on; we've only got about six minutes to deal with them!"

"Are you kidding? You want to chase them?" Sharena questioned. "That's nuts! If we're caught in enemy territory..."

"No, it's a good idea," Anna explained, following her. "In fact, it may be our only option. Just like Kiran said, we know that whatever's protecting them isn't permanent. Now that it's gone... that's our chance."

Alfonse huffed and joined them. "We have no idea what will be waiting for us there, but we have no choice," he admitted. "It's time to head to the World of Radiance!"

"Hey! Wait for me!" Sharena called, rushing to catch up.

\--------------------------------------------

"We did it! Our homeland is saved!" Anna cheered. Kiran was panting from having to run all the way there, but it was worth it to pull off their plan. It had been risky as all hell, but it was the only option. And victory had never tasted so sweet. "It's time to head back!"

"Urgh. I'm so tired," Sharena complained. Honestly, Kiran couldn't blame her.

"Alright, Kiran, let's get-" A sudden flash surprised the group. Most of them had already crossed over the gateway, but Kiran had needed to rest her legs a little bit from all that running earlier. "What was that?" Anna wondered, looking around suspiciously.

"No! The gateway, it's closing... Hurry, Kiran! This way!" Alfonse sounded terrified, which only got Kiran more riled up. She'd never heard him this upset by anything before. Before she could take another step, the gateway vanished, leaving her trapped on the other side. Oh, this was bad. This was very bad. The only people who could close gates were...

"Hello, Summoner. This time it's just you and me." ...Emblian royalty. And it wasn't even the one she actually wanted to be alone with. "Your bratty little friends are on the other side of the gateway. There's no one to save you now... I don't know how you kept blocking my spells earlier, but I'd guess you can't even fight back. I made a promise to you, and I intend to keep it. It's time to die. I'll pop your head right off... Just like I used to do with my dolls," Veronica taunted.

Kiran was shaking in terror. Sure, she'd practiced blocking and defending, but fighting? Would she even be capable of that? Could she manage to get off any hits against her knowing that even one shot that Dancing Queen missed could potentially end her life and Askr's future? Dancing Queen grabbed her clasped hands gently, encouraging her. Trial by fire, huh? Well, it looked like she didn't really have a choice in the matter.

"You think I can't fight?" she asked, pushing herself back to her feet. Dancing Queen was braced at her side, eyes already open and glowing, ready to go. "Don't underestimate me, brat. I've been preparing for this day ever since our last encounter. You'll find that I've only managed to get harder to kill than ever!"

_Flash_

Five Kirans appeared surrounding Veronica, all tensed and ready to strike. She looked around, startled, trying to spot the real one. Little did she know that the real one hadn't moved a muscle; she'd simply made herself invisible and used the illusions as a diversion. In an instant, they all charged.

Veronica tossed a spell at one of them, but it passed right through it. Kiran took the opportunity to charge in and punch her square in the cheek. The girl tumbled to the ground, her cheek rapidly bruising and blood trickling from her nose. The illusions had vanished thanks to the impact, but Kiran could always make more if she needed them. This round, however, she didn't. Kiran kicked the tome away and glared down at the princess. "Well, well; this takes me back. Reminds me of when we first met, don't you agree?" she teased. "Only this time, you're the one who's helpless and terrified."

Dancing Queen grabbed her by the collar and hoisted her up. Veronica clawed at the invisible hand around her throat, but to no avail. "Don't worry; I don't plan to kill you," she continued. "I just want to give you a little taste of fear. When I was your age, if I acted out like you're doing, my dad would take me over his knee and give me a good spanking. Now, my knee's not exactly in good enough shape for that right now, what with all the running you've had me doing today, so I'm going to have to... improvise." Smirking, Kiran pulled her left leg back, turned slightly to the side, and held her left hand up by her face, letting Arrival curl around the arm. "Let me show you how we pass judgement!" Dancing Queen, looking as eager as she possibly could, drew back her fist.

"ABA!" she cried as the first hit landed right in her gut. She released Veronica's neck, letting her fall slightly, and began to punch her repeatedly as fast as possible. "ABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABA!" Veronica was sent flying back, unconscious before she hit the ground. Kiran pretended to check her wrist for a watch.

"Hm. Five second rush. Not bad for a first try," she commented. "Nowhere near the world record, or even second place, but still good. Now I've just got to find a way back before she recovers..." The bright light of an opened gate quickly drew her attention. "Ah, perfect timing."

"Run, Kiran! Toward the light!" someone warned. Dancing Queen looked around, trying to spot the origin. "Just go! Trust me! I'm Zacharias - Alfonse and Sharena's friend!"

"I've got a lot of questions I want to ask you, particularly about Prince Bruno," she told him, still trying to spot where he was hiding. "But I guess letting them know that I'm safe is the top priority right now. But know this; this isn't over." She took off towards the portal as quickly as she could, despite her legs still feeling like they were ablaze.

"Keep going! You're almost there!" he encouraged. "Kiran! You'd better watch out for Alfonse and the others. With that power of yours... I'm sure you can protect them in my stead!" Yeah, she could now, couldn't she? She'd fought. She'd won. Veronica had been terrorizing her since day one, and now she had the confidence and training needed to fight back. She could do this. _They_ could do this. With a rush of confidence giving her a spring in her step, she passed through the light of the gateway leading back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby's first pose, attack rush, and Stand cry! I'm so proud!


	12. My Family

Kiran nearly collapsed the second she was safe on the other side of the gateway. The rush of her first successful fight was dying down, and everything that she was holding back since the fight started came rushing back. She collapsed into someone's arms, gasping heavily, muttering over and over again, "Oh god, oh god, oh god, I can't believe I did that..."

"Kiran! Am I glad to see you!" It was Alfonse who was holding her. He gently rubbed her back as she gasped and stuttered, hoping to calm her down. "When I saw you disappear like Zacharias did, I thought my chest would burst."

"Me too," Sharena chimed in from somewhere close by. Kiran had her face buried in Alfonse's breastplate, so she couldn't see her. "I'm so glad you're safe. Seriously, don't do that."

"You're not going to believe what happened over there," she breathed, finally a little calmer now that she knew she was safe. " _I_ still barely believe what happened! Veronica tried to kill me, so I pulled myself together and punched her out! I just... I straight up _decked her_!" She laughed hysterically. Dancing Queen threw a few punches in the air with a grin. "And while she was on the ground unconscious, Zacharias directed me to that gateway you opened!"

"What? You say that Zacharias helped you? What are you talking about? How..." Kiran beamed at the dumbfounded look on Alfonse's face.

"Let's talk later!" Anna shouted. "We have to get out of here before they close the gateway on us again!"

Much to Kiran's surprise, Alfonse scooped her up bridal-style and took off running. "You were too tired to run earlier, right? This will make things easier," he told her. Her face went beet red and she pulled down her hood to cover it. So much had happened in such a short time... She was lucky she wasn't the type to stress out badly enough to pass out.

\--------------------------------------------

The second they got back to the castle, Kiran requested to go right back to her room. Today had been exhausting. No one argued; they were equally exhausted from the constant waves of enemies coming at them. She was still tired, so she didn't have a problem with Alfonse carrying her the rest of the way. Plenty of Heroes had stopped them on the way to ask if she was alright, but she reassured them that she was fine and she would tell them what had happened after she had rested a bit.

This was the first time Alfonse had seen the inside of Kiran's quarters. It hadn't really changed much compared to when the room was first given to her. It was relatively small, with a desk in the corner covered in papers and an ink quill. Her bed was a complete mess, and her blankets were spread out everywhere. Most likely from when she was rushing out that morning. She'd said that the size was perfect, and that she didn't need a lot of room. But it felt so... empty, like a guest room that someone was only staying in for a short time. Did she really not have anything to add to it to make it feel more like hers?

Kiran had fallen asleep in Alfonse's arms by this point. He gently placed her on the bed and tucked her in like he used to do with Sharena when they were little. Her hood was down, letting him get a good look at her soft features. For the first time, he noticed just how young she looked. And she'd nearly been killed today. How could he have let that happen to her? He gently ran a hand through her silver hair to reassure himself that she was still here. Next time, he'd be sure to protect her properly, no matter what.

\--------------------------------------------

The next day, everyone had gathered around Kiran to hear her story about what had happened. She was just as thrilled to tell it as many times as they wanted to hear. Dancing Queen kept punching the air in the background, reflecting her user's excitement. "It was pretty much the best experience of my life so far!" she finished. "I mean, I've had this power for so long, but this was the first time I ever used it to fight back when someone was coming after me! I was so scared at first, but it felt so good after I was done!"

She seemed better than before; thank goodness. Alfonse wanted to be able to give her as much time to recuperate as she needed. Hopefully, Embla would need to take a while to regroup after their princess got so badly injured.

"Sounds like you've been through a lot. You should probably take a break and let us handle tactics for a while," boy Robin suggested.

"Are you kidding? I've never felt better!" she assured. "Doesn't seem like there's anything to do for now, but if Embla comes back or something comes up, I can handle it."

"If you're sure. Just don't be afraid to come get us if you need something, okay?" girl Robin asked.

"Of course; I know how capable you guys are. I've just come to realize that I'm more capable than I thought. Don't worry; I won't let this go to my head. I'm not going to be charging onto the front lines anytime soon. But I would like to step up our practice, if that's okay," she requested.

"May I sit in on one of your training sessions, Kiran?" Alfonse asked.

"Sure. It might be a little confusing since you can't see Dancing Queen, but if you want to watch, I don't mind."

\--------------------------------------------

That evening, girl Robin set up the training grounds slightly differently than before. Normally, they focused on defense, with Kiran taking hits from her spells. This time, she set up some dummies for Kiran to attack. The objective was for her to take down all targets, including Robin, while she took shots at her. Seven targets had been set up, each in completely different positions from the others. Finally, the rule was that Robin would be the final target, and Kiran couldn't go after her until she had broken all of the others. Robin wouldn't be casting spells at full power to prevent accidentally hurting Kiran or destroying one of the targets.

Alfonse sat off to the side with the recently-summoned Soren, who had expressed an interest in seeing what she could do, and Lissa, who was on stand-by in case someone got hurt. Alfonse was the only one among them who knew what exactly her ability was, but he kept his promise to not say anything on the matter. If Kiran wanted to tell them eventually, she could do it on her own terms. "Are you ready to start?" Robin asked.

"Yes, ma'am!" Kiran shifted her left foot back and crouched slightly, ready to get a running start. Robin made the first move, but the spell stopped and fizzled out just before hitting her; it probably hit Dancing Queen. Kiran took that chance to run for one of the targets. She put it between her and Robin, with Arrival hiding behind a different target and surveying the battlefield. Unlike most of her opponents, Robin could see Dancing Queen, so Kiran had to play this a little more carefully. The moment Robin lost track of her, the target was struck with several powerful hits, breaking it into pieces and sending them flying at her. Robin fired off another spell to block them, and Kiran was on the move again.

She was right; it was quite confusing only being able to see half of what was going on. But it was still impressive nonetheless. Kiran was taking a lot into account. She would use her ability to throw Robin's aim off, get to a place where she wouldn't easily be struck, and break a target before her opponent could recover. But she had to be able to get from one target to the next in one go, or she'd be stuck out in the open. Robin was going easy on her for now, which Kiran appreciated. They could amp up the difficulty later, when she was more prepared.

Just as she was about to go for the last target, she tripped and fell flat on her chest, knocking the wind right out of her. She curled up slightly, gingerly holding a badly scraped palm. "Are you okay?!" Alfonse asked, startled.

"I'm fine," she groaned. "I just put my foot down wrong and slipped. This isn't even the worst fall I've had; I once scraped an entire layer of skin off my calf." She gingerly pushed herself to her feet, wobbling slightly. "Urgh, I probably scraped up my knee again, too, and I just can't see it. Ouch..."

"Don't worry, I've got this! That's why you asked me to come, right?" Lissa asked, already bringing out her staff.

"Yeah. I've always been this clumsy. It's why I'm not used to this much physical activity; I keep hurting myself," she admitted. "But I need to work through this. I can't let a few little scrapes stop me from trying to improve. Besides, when you get hurt, your body puts itself back together a little bit stronger to be ready for next time. I'm ready to try again."

"Don't overdo it," Soren scolded. "You're useless if you push yourself too hard. And you're depending too heavily on that ability of yours. If someone finds out what you can do, you'll be in trouble. You need to be able to work around that possibility."

She flinched a bit at the criticism, but hid it pretty quickly. "Got it."

\--------------------------------------------

After a few hours of that, Kiran agreed to take a break for food. Lissa had needed to patch her up quite a few times, but she didn't allow herself to give up at all. Alfonse had stayed and watched every trip, every hit, and every scrape. Maybe it would be better if she wore armor? He quickly shook off that thought; Kiran needed maneuverability and flexibility, and armor would just slow her down. Not only that, her ability couldn't block sound, and armor was quite noisy. Besides, none of the mages wore armor, and they were fine out on the battlefield. Well... mostly.

He thought that Kiran would go right back to training when she was done, but she was busy taking off somewhere with a small squad of her strongest Heroes. She looked excited, and when he tried to ask her about it, all she said was "It's a surprise!" Apparently, another Grand Hero had popped up somewhere; Alfonse hoped she knew what she was getting into. Quite a few of those were bad news, and he wasn't too thrilled about keeping them around, but she had made very good points about why they should.

She came back a few minutes later, slightly bruised, but grinning ear to ear. "We won!" she cheered happily. "And I got to punch someone in the face again! Do you have any idea how satisfying that is? Because it's super satisfying!"

"I certainly hope it was worth it," he told her.

"Oh, absolutely. Without a doubt! One moment, please." She took a deep breath and yelled as loud as she could. "CAMILLA, LEO, ELISE, CORRINS, PERI, LASLOW, I'VE GOT A SURPRISE FOR YOU!"

Footsteps echoed down the halls as the aforementioned Heroes approached. "This had better be important!" Leo snapped. He wasn't too happy about being interrupted doing... whatever it was he had been doing.

"XANDER!" Elise squealed happily, jumping on her missing big brother. Both Corrins followed suit, knocking all of them to the ground. Camilla helped them up, only to pull them and Leo into a full-on group hug.

"I found him!" Kiran chirped, looking extra chipper.

"It looks like it wasn't exactly easy," Laslow commented, looking at the bruise around her cheek. "Where did that come from?"

"Oh, I nearly got ambushed. I punched the guy in the face and got away, but I fell into Hector's armor on my way down. I'm fine; just a little scuffed up. I was actually going to ask Elise to fix me up right after this," she explained.

Alfonse was starting to get worried. Kiran being confident was fine, but Kiran putting herself in positions where she could get hurt was certainly not. It was just a few bumps and bruises, but that could easily get worse if she wasn't careful.

\--------------------------------------------

"Kiran, I need to speak to you about something," he said, just before everyone turned in for the night.

Kiran, who had just finished another book in the library, took the time to carefully re-shelf it before following him out. He decided to head to the training grounds since no one would possibly be out this late at night. "What's this about, Alfonse?" she asked.

He took a deep breath to collect his thoughts before finally speaking up. "Kiran, I think you should stay behind and let someone else handle tactics on our next campaign."

He had expected her to be upset. He hadn't expected the sheer output of rage he got. " _What_?! What the hell, Alfonse?! I put in all this work to help the Order of Heroes succeed, and _this_ is how you thank me?! By _benching me_?!" she snapped, shaking with anger.

"I just think that you could use a little rest after everything that's happened recently," he said firmly.

"And as I've told you over and over again, I'm fine! What, are you calling me a liar?!"

"That's not it-"

"Then what is it?! Do you just think I can't handle it because I got a little hurt recently? I'm not some child you need to coddle!" she bit back.

"I know that-"

"Then if you know that, why would you make a call this stupid?!" she interrupted, glowering at him.

"I'm just worried-"

"Why?! You've seen how capable I am! Now, read my lips: I. can. handle. this."

Finally, he snapped back. "I can't risk losing you again!" Kiran's rage dissipated almost instantly, replaced by numb shock. "We nearly lost you yesterday! And today you came back injured! You've been getting too close to the frontlines, and I just don't want you to get hurt! Every time I see you injured, I just keep thinking back to that day, and... I just can't go through that anymore. Call me selfish, I don't care. I'm... terrified of the idea of you getting hurt or dying for the sake of our war."

Kiran took a few deep breaths to stop her shaking. "I get it," she started slowly. "I guess I didn't think about how traumatizing that would be for you. But I have my reasons for needing to get stronger as well, and I don't care if I have to take a few bumps or bruises to get there. Zacharias asked me to watch out for you guys, and I'm keeping that promise, no matter what. And I can't do that if you have to keep taking care of me and rushing me out of danger. I need to be able to do that on my own now. A few small injuries now will probably spare me a gruesome death later. Believe it or not, I _am_ trying to be careful."

Dancing Queen gently grabbed Alfonse's hand and pulled it closer so Kiran could take it. "So, I'll protect you, and you can protect me. Will that help you feel better?" she suggested.

Alfonse gingerly took her hand. He could feel Dancing Queen still holding on, providing her own gentle reassurance. "I think I can agree to that," he answered. "Just... please, be careful, alright?"

"Of course. You guys are my family. I won't be leaving you behind anytime soon."


	13. Crying

Finally, the time arrived for their next strategy meeting. Embla had been strangely quiet as of late, but Kiran had a feeling that they were just being more careful after seeing what she did to Veronica. "It's such a relief that Zacharias is fine after all," Alfonse started.

"Yes, but... why did he leave again before we had a chance to meet?" Sharena asked.

"I couldn't even see him when he called out to me, and I had my Stand scouting around as much as I could. Whatever is going on, he wants to stay hidden," Kiran explained.

"See? He must have had a reason," Anna added. "Don't worry! Even if Zacharias is in hiding, we do have a way to speak with him now..."

"We do? Since when?" Sharena asked.

"I managed to get my hands on something special while we were in the World of Radiance," Anna answered, pulling out a small, clear blue stone. "It's called a sending stone - it's a magical stone that lets you talk to someone far away."

"And you believe we can use this to speak with Zacharias?" Alfonse questioned.

Anna nodded. "Usually, the person you want to talk to also needs to have a stone, but we can use it as a catalyst for a magical rite in the World of Shadows, which is where we're headed next," she continued. "As long as he's alive, Zacharias will be able to hear us... even if he's asleep!"

"That's fantastic, Commander Anna!" Sharena cheered. "What are we waiting for? Let's talk to Zacharias right away!"

\--------------------------------------------

Of course, things weren't going to be that easy. As soon as the group arrived, they were ambushed by contracted Heroes. Luckily, Kiran had thought to bring a squad with them just in case. Anna had a grim look on her face. "It seems the Heroes of this world are already under the control of Embla. Which means..."

A rustle in the brush got Kiran's attention, and Dancing Queen snapped to look in that direction. "'Speak of the devil, and he shall appear'," Kiran quoted, glaring at the eavesdropping prince.

"You again? I tire of meeting like this," Bruno sneered. He wasn't looking well; Kiran could clearly make out the drops of sweat trailing down his cheeks. And was that a slight tremor she spied? Dancing Queen was on high alert. "Guh! Leave... now. Get in my way, and... I... will kill... you."

"It's the other one; the dangerous one!" Kiran warned. "But... whatever's going on here, it seems that they're not working together in any way." Fortunately for them, he took off before anything too dangerous happened.

"Wait!" Alfonse called after him.

"Leave him for now. Whatever's going on with him, we're just lucky we didn't get attacked this time," Kiran told him. "We have a mission to do, right? We can worry about him later."

\--------------------------------------------

Kiran honestly hadn't thought she'd be seeing results from her training so quickly. But her endurance had already gotten quite a bit better. She was pleased to see that didn't need to stop and catch her breath nearly as often anymore. Her stamina was obviously improving quite dramatically. Maybe she could ask Robin to amp things up a little next time? Just a little.

Still, she didn't mind Alfonse watching her back during that ambush they got caught in. After hearing his explanation of why he was becoming so overprotective of her, she really couldn't be mad at him for being careful with her. He was watching her, but he was also giving her the space he knew she needed, and she was grateful for that. In turn, she punched out an enemy that had tried to attack him from behind, clearly impressing him. The way they were going about things now seemed to work out for the both of them.

After a few more scuffles, they finally reached their destination. "That's it!" Anna announced. "We've found the arcanist's manor! We can perform the rite!"

A sudden movement got Kiran's attention, and she sent Arrival over to take a closer look. The snake hissed an alarm when it got a lock on the source, leading Kiran to tense up. "Commander Anna! Wait! Look..." Alfonse warned, picking up on the signals.

There was Prince Bruno, because of course he was going to show up there right when he was least wanted. And, of course, it would be the dangerous other one. "There... you are," he hissed. "Now... die... I... will kill... you all..."

"You were right, Kiran. Something's definitely wrong with him," Alfonse reported. "He's clearly not the same person as before."

The summoner nodded, her heart sinking as she noticed the tremors subsiding. "This doesn't look good. Looks like the other one is fully in control now," she warned. "This is going to get dangerous."

"I will kill you! You, prince of Askr!" Whatever was going on, it seemed the one who had been helping them wasn't fighting back anymore. Kiran sent Arrival into the building to scout around and see who was waiting to ambush them.

"We need to take him down quickly before things get out of hand," she started. "He's waiting behind the manor. The second we get close, he'll charge in and attack. Not only that, Genny's in the building waiting to heal him if he gets hurt. Celica, Boey, and Mae are there, too. So the second we move in, we'll be assaulted by magic. Hm... Okay. Robin, move in over by the left window. Celica is right there on the other side. Olivia, get ready to dance to give him the energy boost he needs to get out of there and back to safety. I'll make a distraction to buy you a little more time."

"What kind of distraction?" Alfonse asked, wary.

"Nothing too risky. Just something I've always wanted to try," she told him, grinning mischievously. "I've always wondered if Arrival was venomous."

The snake, responding to the user's will, sunk its teeth into Boey's arm the second Robin's spell connected with Celica, throwing her back. He yelped in pain, trying to find the source of the two puncture wounds. "What are you groaning about?" Mae asked, moving past Celica to take up a position against the enemy.

"Something bit me!" he told her, showing her his arm.

"Ooh, that looks like a snake bite!" she told him. "Better let Genny take a look at it. It could be poisonous."

"Venomous," Celica corrected, wincing from having the wind knocked out of her earlier. "Snakes are venomous, not poisonous."

"What's the difference?" Boey complained, letting Genny patch up his arm. Meanwhile, Kiran was getting Julia into position outside, snickering. They were being so loud, she could hear them quite clearly from where she was.

"If you bite it and you die, it's poisonous. If it bites you and you die, it's venomous," she explained.

"What if it bites me and it dies?" he asked.

"Then you're poisonous! By Mila, Boey, learn to listen!" Mae snapped.

"Okay, it doesn't seem like there was anything dangerous in the wound. Just be careful with that arm, okay?" Genny warned.

Julia's next spell threw Mae back into the wall before they could continue the conversation. Olivia danced for her, and she quickly launched another spell at Boey, throwing him back as well. Kiran was cackling maniacally the whole time. "I can't believe that worked as well as it did!" she howled. "On another note, it seems that she's not venomous!"

"I have to admit; I never would have considered doing that," Robin said, getting ready to fire at Genny the moment she came closer.

"Snake bites are painful at best and lethal at worst. I figured I had nothing to lose by giving it a shot. Well, I do taste blood, but that's just me tasting what's in her mouth," she admitted. "Well, we've dealt with the opening act. The grand finale is hiding in the back and won't come out. We'll have to go to him. Julia, be ready to take the shot the second you see... wait, that phrase doesn't work, he wears a mask, and you can't see him... Okay, fire the second _I_ see that stupid mask of his."

The rest of the team ducked behind Julia as she tentatively moved ahead, watching carefully for her target. Arrival slipped out of the manor and looked around, trying to pinpoint his position. "He's really close. Just a little bit to the right and you're pointed right at him. Aim at the spot right below where Arrival is." Unseen by her target, the snake curled up into a hoop shape in the air directly above him, mimicking a target. Julia took a deep breath and cast, and was rewarded with a strangled yelp of pain. Kiran smirked and petted Julia on the head. "Bulls-eye. That was perfect, Julia," she praised.

Julia blushed from the praise. "Thank you; you're too kind," she replied.

Kiran and the higher-ups hurried to the spot behind the manor where their target was hiding. He'd taken a tumble from his horse, and he lay there on the ground groaning for a moment. Dancing Queen wasn't acting up, so it was safe to go near. "Grr... ugh... I lost... Now kill me," he groaned.

"You helped us, once. I have no intention of taking your life here," Alfonse answered.

"You'll live to regret letting me off so easily..." he warned, forcing himself back to his feet.

"You seem to be in a hurry to die," Kiran accused, arms crossed. "What are you still hiding from us?"

"That does not concern you," he said firmly.

"Considering the crazy-split-personality-that's-trying-to-kill-us thing you've got going on, it concerns me very much," she insisted. "My guess is you want to die to get away from it all. Am I wrong? Are you trying to use us as a way to kill yourself because you can't do it yourself for some reason?"

"Enough!" he snapped, turning to leave. "Those questions of yours will get you in trouble sooner or later."

"I know; I never know when to shut my mouth when I get going," she admitted. "Just know that whatever you're looking for, you won't find it here."

\--------------------------------------------

"Alfonse, Sharena... come here. Everything is ready. We can begin the rite," Anna told them. Kiran hung back, not wanting to intrude on such an intimate moment, but still wanting to see if she could get some answers. Anna closed her eyes and began to recite the rite. "With all thy heart, yearn for me. With all thy voice, call to me." The stone lit up faintly, a soft pale blue. "Concentrate. Zacharias is out there somewhere! Call to him... With all your heart and soul! Now!"

"Zacharias!" they called. Over and over again, the trio called. But there was no answer. Kiran could feel the despair hanging in the air.

"You're wasting your breath," Bruno told them.

"You're still here?" Kiran asked tonelessly.

"Why isn't anything happening?" Alfonse asked desperately.

"Shout as much as you like. You won't get a reply," Bruno insisted.

"You lie!" Anna snapped. "The rite won't fail us! If Zacharias is alive, he should be able to talk with us, no matter where he is - even asleep!"

"There's your problem: 'if'."

"What do you mean?" she asked. "Wait. You-"

"Prince Bruno... Is he dead? Answer me! Tell me what you know!" Alfonse snapped. Kiran flinched back in shock. She'd never seen him this upset before. Then again, she'd probably done the same thing to him last night.

"He stuck his nose into things that he really should not have," he answered. "Right before I came here... I killed him."

Alfonse froze, shock and despair quickly overtaking his features. "You what?!"

"What was it I just told you? Oh, yes. I said you'd regret your decision to let me live," he taunted. "It's time for me to go, however. Alfonse. Sharena. There's something you need to understand. You're next. I'll send you to meet your Zacharias. One by one. Look forward to it."

Kiran didn't really know why she did what she did next. Maybe it was leftover excitement from her first time drawing blood with Arrival. Maybe it was anger on behalf of her dear friends, a great anger the likes of which she had never felt before. Maybe it was a mix of these factors or more. Whatever the case, Arrival chomped down on his arm fiercely, tearing his sleeve, and did not let go. Dancing Queen followed up with a vicious punch to the face. Kiran's only regret was that the impact was a little too low, so while she might have broken his jaw, she missed his mask entirely. He glared at her, knowing that she was somehow responsible, and took off. She could feel him tugging on Arrival and trying to get it to release him, but the snake did not stop biting and return to her until after he had exited her range.

With everything finally quieted down, she turned her attention to her friends. Alfonse was still frozen in place, a look of absolute grief marring his face. Anna was clenching her fists and teeth with barely-restrained fury and frustration at being helpless again. And Sharena... the poor girl had collapsed to her knees and started wailing. Kiran felt even more out of place than she had ever been before. She felt incredibly dirty just being in the same room as their deep, personal grief. Heck, she'd worked at animal hospitals before, and she knew that the best thing to do for grieving pet owners was to get out of the room and give them a moment alone, as they usually didn't want strangers seeing their grief. But she wasn't a stranger; they considered her a friend, right? Thinking about it like that wasn't going to get her anywhere. She was here, and now she had to do something about it.

Kiran was a person who was rarely comfortable with physical contact. Even her own mother hugging her would make her nervous if she wasn't in the right mindset for it. As such, she rarely engaged in the practice herself, always letting other people make the first move. This time, she mustered up her courage and approached the grieving princess. Carefully, she extended her arms for a hug. Sharena, still sobbing, grabbed back almost immediately, squeezing her so tightly that it was almost painful. A few seconds later, another warm body pressed against them, and then another. Anna had her arms wrapped around Sharena from behind, and Alfonse was reaching over Kiran to join in. In the midst of this group hug, Kiran noticed that Alfonse's eyes were wet, but he hadn't let a single tear fall.

"Cry if you need to," she whispered to him. "You don't have to keep being strong." A few seconds of silence passed, then Kiran felt wetness on the back of her cloak. As they continued to mourn, she started to think. Her theory regarding Bruno's identity was becoming much more plausible as she continued to gather evidence, but this would be the absolute worst time to bring it up. She'd have to wait until he showed up again, get answers to a few more questions she had, and then piece it all together. If she was right, they wouldn't have to hurt like this much longer. But if she was wrong... well, the pain of losing a loved one would never go away, but she'd do what she could to take the edge off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I put in a bit from the YouTube video "Incorrect Echoes Quotes". What can I say? It fit the mood.


	14. Chasing the Storm

It was pretty fortunate that everything went down when it did. The June bridal festival had provided a welcome distraction from everything that had been going on lately. Though Kiran had been a bit surprised that they used the same names for the months that she did back in her world, even though they had specific historical connotations. She had even gotten a good laugh in at Anna's expense when she found out that her little get-rich-quick scheme wasn't going to work out. There had been a little bit of embarrassment when Sharena had straight up asked her if she'd ever considered marriage. She'd unthinkingly looked over at Alfonse, then blushed and tripped over her own feet when she realized what she had nearly been caught doing. Then Alfonse had carried her to the infirmary to get patched up by Priscilla, which only embarrassed her more.

But seriously, why had she started thinking about Alfonse? They were just friends! Kiran had honestly never given any thought to marriage prior to that day. To her, it was a far-off idea that she might never reach, and that was fine with her. Maybe it was just because he'd been nice to her? She'd never been able to talk to boys outside of her family because they always called her a freak and ostracized her; even her brother had been a huge jerk. Meeting an actual nice boy was something she never thought she'd experience. Was that what set all of this off? She'd never had positive interactions with other girls either, so why hadn't Sharena being nice to her set it off? Great, now she was making things more complicated by questioning her orientation; yet another thing she'd never really given a thought about!

She was so busy thinking about it that she didn't notice Caeda, decked out in all her finery, approaching her out on the balcony. "Is something wrong, Kiran?" she asked.

"Oh! No, nothing's wrong, I'm fine," she insisted. But now that she thought about it, Caeda was far more experienced with this than her. She'd be a perfect person to ask! "Actually, Caeda, I have a bit of a... bizarre question," she admitted.

"A bizarre question? What is it?"

"How... how do you know if you're in love?" she finally asked, playing with her fingers nervously. "I don't know if what I'm feeling right now is love, or if I'm just happy that someone decided to be nice to me. No one ever really did that for me before I came here, so I don't really understand. But, you and Marth... you have something I could only dream of. How did you know you had it?"

Caeda blushed slightly, looking down at her feet. "A-am I that obvious?" she asked.

"Only because I've read up on the history of your world. Things will turn out great for you, I can tell you that much," she explained. "But how does someone know that what they're feeling is love?"

"Well, that's not an easy question to answer. Matters of the heart are rarely so simple," she explained. "Everyone experiences love differently. How I feel it may be completely different from how you do. With us, it wasn't anything dramatic. I just realized one day that I'm happiest when I'm at his side, protecting him. But Marth and I had the advantage of having known each other since we were small, and you're new to all of this. You shouldn't expect things to turn out the same way for you as they will for us. Take the time to understand what your heart is trying to tell you. Learn through experiencing different feelings with different people. It won't be easy; it never is. But I have faith that you can figure it out. And if you need to talk to someone about it, I'll always be willing to listen."

"That actually helped. Thanks," Kiran said, smiling. She just needed to calm down and take things one step at a time.

\--------------------------------------------

Kiran had been having a pleasant conversation with Charlotte when Alfonse came to get her. "Oh, what now?" Kiran moaned, throwing her arms into the air. "Seriously! I just wanted to relax and enjoy things for a little while! Is that so wrong?!"

"Sorry, but we have an urgent situation with Princess Veronica. I'll explain when we get there!" he told her, dashing off in a hurry.

"Oh, that god damn brat's going to get it when I get my hands on her!" she complained. Charlotte was just looking at her curiously.

"Wow. And I thought I was good at acting," she said as they headed off to catch up. "Which one's the act? The innocent, shy part, or the aggressive go-getter part?"

Kiran blushed a bit, looking down. "Neither, really," she admitted shyly. "It just depends on my level of comfort around people. I get scared around people I don't know well, so I get quiet so they don't pay too much attention to me. When I'm more comfortable around someone, I can speak up more. And Alfonse and I have known each other for a while now, so... yeah. Everyone goes through life wearing different masks; they're all still me, just different parts of me."

"I can understand that," she agreed. "So, he likes it when you get loud like that?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure I startled him the first time I did," she admitted. "We're starting to come to a better understanding of each other, you know?"

"Usually, when I startle guys like that, I never see them again," Charlotte confessed.

"Then they're not worth your time," Kiran encouraged. "If you can't accept someone for their flaws, then what's the point? Besides, some people see what you consider flaws as good points. I personally like how confident and strong you are."

"Aw, thanks! And I personally think that you're absolutely adorable, no matter if you're quiet or loud!"

"Thanks."

\--------------------------------------------

"Princess Veronica!"

The little princess looked over at the glaring prince and the tactician at his side. Unconsciously, she took a step back, still remembering the pain from when she had last attempted to kill the girl. Whatever power she had, it had rendered her nearly untouchable, and Veronica wasn't going to take any chances until she knew more about what she could do. Behind the princess, the vortex had finally reached its peak, swirling and raging worse than any storm she'd ever seen before.

"Well, look who showed up to my party," she taunted. "You're late, though. There's nothing you can do to stop the Tempest now. Soon, I'll have more Heroes on my side... So many that you won't even be able to count them all... I'll make them all mine! And then I'll finally crush your pathetic little kingdom." And with that, she turned and vanished into the vicious storm.

"Stop!" Kiran sent Arrival in after her, but immediately pulled it back, clutching at her eyes and yelping in pain. "Kiran, what's wrong?" Alfonse asked, looking her over.

"That was... It was..." she stuttered, blinking rapidly. A few tears of blood trickled down her cheek. "There was so much... Everything swirling together... It hurt to look at it when it was all twisty like that," she explained. "But I saw someone in there. It wasn't Veronica, though. I'm not sure who it was, but they had short, blue hair and they were wearing a mask."

"It's no good. We can't let her escape. We have to stop her now!" Alfonse ordered. "Into the storm, everyone - into the Tempest!" He leapt in after her, not waiting for anyone to follow. Kiran squeezed her eyes shut and jumped in after him. The raging winds howled and tore at her body, and she curled up as tight as she could, hoping that it would stop soon. She counted some small blessings; there was no rain accompanying the storm, and no debris was being thrown around either. Still, the constant spiraling made her nauseous, and she struggled make sense of which way was up or down. As soon as it started, it ended, and she plummeted straight towards the ground. Calling Dancing Queen to try and slow her fall by pulling her upwards, she braced for the impact against the ground.

\--------------------------------------------

Kiran didn't feel the ground beneath her feet. It almost felt like someone had caught her and was holding her bridal-style. How embarrassing... Her heart was still pounding, so she took a few deep breaths to try and slow it down. Kiran opened her eyes to get a look, and saw that same mysterious masked person she'd seen in her brief glimpse inside the Tempest. "Are you alright?" they asked. Judging by the voice alone, this was a woman.

"Y-Yes," she answered. "Just need to... to catch my breath." The Hero gently set her down, allowing Kiran to get her bearings. Alfonse was staggering to his feet, a little dizzy, but alright. Anna was helping Sharena to her feet, and they both seemed okay. They'd landed in a grassy field, and the sun was shining above the clouds, but she could still see massive walls of wind up in the sky. Were they in the eye of the storm, the calm center where they would be safe? They must have dove through the eye wall, the most dangerous part, to get here. Veronica was nowhere to be seen; had she ended up in a different part of the storm?

Strangely, the Heroes that she had brought to the tower in the first place were gone. Taking another look around, Kiran could see a few other Heroes. Both Robins, Lucina, Lissa, Nowi, and Tharja were all looking around, confused. She couldn't feel her contracts with them, so these were not the same ones that she had made a contract with. "This is... the World of Awakening?" Sharena asked, looking around.

"It seems this is where the Tempest touched down," Anna reported.

"The Tempest... I think I read about this when I was trying to do research on Embla in the library. It's not directly related to them, but it seemed important, so I kept it in mind," Kiran explained. "The Tempest is a storm of pure chaos that pierces holes through the worlds and connects them by force. It's not like the gates you make; it's far more dangerous. It's completely random which worlds get torn apart and stitched together. This time, it looks like the epicenter of the storm is the World of Awakening, and these guys got dragged into it somehow."

"So this is... The Tempest. The source of the chaos that has engulfed our world," the male Robin observed.

"That's right," the masked hero said, approaching them. "If we don't do something about it... destruction is all we have to look forward to. The Tempest distorts time and space. Worlds become entangled... and they begin to mix."

"The fact that all of us are meeting like this is proof of that, I'd say," the female Robin agreed.

"These people have come from another world to fight against the Tempest," she continued. "They are our ray of hope. If we work together, we can change the future... I'm sure of it."

"Of course we can!" Lucina agreed. "Let's fight to get our future back!"

"Give me a moment here..." Kiran mumbled, fiddling with Breidablik. "If I'm remembering things correctly..." A bang erupted from the weapon with a bright flash of light. Reinhardt, Nowi, Olivia, and Chrom all tumbled out of the portal she'd conjured. "There we go. It seems I can use this to call Heroes from the castle even while caught in here. I can also use it to call in reinforcements if we need them, and to escape once we take down whoever is at the center of this storm and weaken its power a little. Can someone explain the situation to these guys while I check around for the enemy?"

Sharena immediately got right on that, while Kiran walked ahead a bit and sent out Arrival to look. Everything was still twisted, but less painfully. It seemed all she needed to do to get a good look was get her Stand into the eye, then gently ease her way deeper into the storm. "So, you have a way to observe the battlefield ahead of everyone else?" the masked woman asked.

"Yes. It's a gift I've always had," she admitted. "It's a little jarring because everything's so twisted up right now, but as long as I can prepare for the shifts, I should be okay."

"That will be quite useful for fighting back against the Tempest," she admitted.

"Thank you, Lucina. Or should I call you Marth when you're like this?" Kiran chuckled slyly, leaning in closer so that no one else could hear. 'Marth' looked at her in shock.

"How did you-?"

"I'm not exactly blind. I know you've done this kind of thing before. Not only that, but with Lucina being right there, I can clearly see the resemblance. Honestly, I don't know how she hasn't noticed who you are," she explained. "Don't worry; I know how to keep secrets. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to; not even Chrom or the other Lucina. If you think it's important, than it's important."

"You have my gratitude," she said. "It's important that I keep my identity a secret."

Meanwhile, Alfonse, waiting with the others and putting together their strategy, couldn't help but look over at the two. Kiran was getting awfully close to that odd masked man... Wait, why was he even thinking like that? Kiran could be friends with whoever she wanted to; it was none of his business. Eventually, the two finished and returned to the group. "I got a lock on Veronica," Kiran reported. "It seems she's the one controlling the Tempest; I could see its power flowing into her. She's heavily guarded and looked a hell of a lot tougher than what we're used to. There's also a few waves of enemies we'll have to get past, and it doesn't look like we'll have any time to rest. We'll need to handle this carefully; no rush tactics."

She turned to lead the others towards the first battle, with their masked friend at her side. Alfonse shoved down another pang of jealousy. Whatever was going on between them, he didn't have the right to complain about it.

\--------------------------------------------

Things had been going smoothly; how things had turned out so well, Kiran honestly couldn't tell. Of course, they had to go to shit as soon as they reached the strongest point of the Tempest. With the storm's power enhancing her own, Veronica had gone from a pain in the ass to a serious force to be reckoned with. Even bracing against her spells was getting harder, as there was far more of a force behind them than before.

Finally, Kiran had enough. She gestured to 'Marth' to attack and got Dancing Queen prepared. Locking crimson eyes with the younger princess, she effortlessly shifted her perspective, making it look like her attacker was a few steps to the right of where she actually was. Veronica was caught completely off guard when Falchion struck her in the side, throwing her back into the Dragon's Table alter. Snarling in frustration at yet another defeat, the princess made her escape. "The Tempest is weakening, it seems," the male Robin noted.

"Beating her severed the connection. Everything should be going back to normal soon," Kiran said, quickly surveying the area. "All in all, that went well."

"They never even saw us coming!" Lissa agreed. "Now, come on! We've got to go tell my brother all about what we did! The one in our world, I mean," she added, looking over at the other Chrom.

"I know what you meant, don't worry," he assured.

"Hee hee! We're the best!" Nowi laughed happily.

"It's all thanks to the power of my love," Tharja insisted. "It's twice as potent right now, so I'm twice as strong as usual. Heh." Both Robins nervously backed away.

"Our true gratitude should go to you warriors from the other world," 'Marth' said. "You fought at our side as true Heroes."

"Think nothing of it," Alfonse said. "This is part of our duties as the Order of Heroes."

"Well said. Unfortunately, we do not know when the Tempest will strike again," she worried.

"Wait, again?!" Sharena asked.

"Yes. That's part of what makes the Tempest so dangerous," Kiran answered. "Even if it's dispelled, it will eventually regain its strength and cause problems like this again. And there was nothing in the books about how to stop it permanently. We can only cause it to settle down for a time. Damn it, Veronica! Such a brat! You need to think about long-term consequences if you want to be in any kind of position of power!"

"Indeed. I must find a way we can fight back... I refuse to let any world be consumed by despair. Not if I have any say," she said firmly.

"That said, we should probably get out of here," Kiran warned. "They'll be fine; anyone native to this connected world who got dragged into the Tempest will be returned to wherever they were pulled from. We're outsiders here. If the Tempest vanishes completely while we're still in here, we're not going to be able to get out until it touches down somewhere again. But if I'm remembering things right, Breidablik is the key to getting out." Fumbling with the weapon, she fired a shot that opened a hole in the wind walls; just big enough for them to get out. One by one, everyone made it through back to their own worlds, until only Kiran and 'Marth' remained.

"Then I will see you again when the Tempest touches down next," 'Marth' said.

Kiran froze at the edge of the hole. "Say what now? Aren't you from this world?" she asked.

"Not quite. I entered through... different means than everyone else," she explained. "As a result, I cannot pass into your world, either."

"But what will happen to you while the Tempest is cut off from the worlds?" Kiran asked.

'Marth' shrugged. "I honestly don't know," she answered. "Maybe I'll simply cease to exist for a time. Maybe I'll be carried off through the worlds until the Tempest touches down again."

"No," Kiran said firmly. "I'm not going to allow that. You don't deserve to have that happen to you."

"It's not a matter of deserving it or not," 'Marth' insisted. "There's simply no way for me to escape here. The way that I used to get here would only allow me to enter the Tempest, not exit it. I knew this from the start. Besides, this way I can keep track of where the Tempest is going to appear next."

"What's the point of that if you can't warn anybody about it? You can't take on the Tempest all by yourself; no one can! Did you notice how many Heroes it took for us to fight it off this time around?! It looks like there's only one thing to do for it," Kiran stated, holding out her hand. "Make a contract with me. If we can get out this way, then making a contract should allow you to come with us. Plus, we'll be putting together ways of looking out for the Tempest. It'll be much easier to get help fighting it if you have a way to get in and out without trouble."

"I... suppose you have a point," she admitted. "Very well." She extended her hand and the two shook. Breidablik shone with a ruby light, and Arrival curled around both of their hands, pleased with the outcome. 'Marth' immediately looked towards the pressure on her hand and spotted the eyeless snake. "By the gods, what is that?!" she yelped.

"Oh, that's just my Stand," Kiran answered casually, Dancing Queen peeking out from behind her. "That's the reason why I can see the battlefield ahead. I'll have the others explain it after we get out of here." Arrival released its grip, coiling around Kiran's neck like a scarf. She was still looking at 'Marth', who shuddered a little bit. "I know she might look a bit creepy, but she's not dangerous to anyone but my enemies. And we're friends now. So, let's go, okay?"

\--------------------------------------------

To say Alfonse was surprised to see Kiran take so long to exit the Tempest, only to exit holding hands with Marth, was an understatement. He'd been worried for a moment, worried that once again something had gone wrong and Kiran was stuck on the other end of a portal. But she came through smiling and telling everyone that she'd just needed to make a contract to bring Marth out of the Tempest with her. Marth was just looking at the spot behind Kiran where Dancing Queen probably was, obviously new to being able to see her.

He couldn't help but feel jealous. Every Hero that Kiran had contracted with had the ability to see Dancing Queen; she had explained that a couple of days after they'd met. As a result, he, Sharena, and Anna were unable to do so. Apparently, Anna's initial summoning of Kiran to their world wasn't the same as the summoning of other Heroes. He still couldn't figure out why. But no matter how or why it was possible, it didn't change the fact that there was a whole part of Kiran that he couldn't properly see or experience, and he was jealous of that.

Kiran seemed to pick up on his mood. As everyone was getting ready to turn in for the night, she cornered him in the hall on the way to his quarters. "You're upset," she stated plainly. "Is it because I took a while getting back? I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you worry again."

"It's not that," he assured. "It's really nothing important. You don't need to be so concerned about me."

"But I want to be," she insisted. "You've been looking out for me for so long. It's only natural to want to return the favor."

He took a deep breath and confessed. "I'm... jealous. I know I shouldn't be, but I am."

"Don't ever apologize for feeling something. Your feelings are valid," she assured. "If it's alright with you... can I ask what brought this on?"

"You just did," he teased, making her blush. "If you and I made a contract... do you think I would be able to see Dancing Queen?"

"That's what this is about?" she asked, getting a nod in response. "Well, I don't really know. Besides, aren't there political things we'd need to worry about with that? I can't imagine the people of Askr would be trilled that their prince is contracted to a mere foreign summoner."

"True enough," he admitted. "Politics is the most complicated part of being royalty. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to worry about these things."

"Well, you do, and you can't change that. Just do your best to handle these things," she assured. "Anyway, politics aside, it doesn't really matter to me if you can see Dancing Queen or not. Even though you can't, you're still making an effort to understand me and my abilities instead of just brushing me off." Dancing Queen gently reached out and touched his hand, and he squeezed it back. "You not being able to see her doesn't mean anything. It's okay to feel jealous, but instead of wasting time wanting something we don't even know if you can have, why don't you try and think about what you already have?"

"Like what?" he asked.

"For starters, she doesn't let just anybody touch her like this," she admitted, blushing. "Arrival's a bit more contact-happy, but Dancing Queen has only ever done this with me and you. They're both a reflection of my soul, so I wonder what that says about me..."

"Maybe your Stand has two parts because you have two different sides," he guessed. "Around people you don't know, you get really closed off and scared, and you don't like to let them get too close. That part is Dancing Queen. But when you're more comfortable around someone, you get far more outgoing, and you honestly make an effort to socialize with people. You step out of your hiding places and we get to see your humor, your attitude, and your strength of will. That part is Arrival."

"That could also explain why Dancing Queen has to stay close and Arrival can move far away," she mused. "I've never been able to talk about this kind of thing with anyone either. See? You don't need to see her to have a connection with her."

Alfonse smiled. "Thank you for trying to cheer me up," he told her.

"Is it working?" she teased.

He laughed, and she immediately decided that she wanted to hear this sound more often. It was so cute! "It certainly is! Between helping us dispel the Tempest, recruiting Marth, and this, you've gotten a lot done today!"

"Yeah, she'll be helpful when the Tempest eventually touches down again," Kiran agreed. She then covered her mouth and cursed. "Oops... I don't know if I'm allowed to say that or not... But it's so obvious if you just listen..."

"Wait, he... she's a woman?!"

"And quite the actress, too. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't figure it out until I told you," she admitted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I had to throw in the Awakening reference at the end. It was perfect for the situation.


	15. Kill Them With Kindness

One thing Kiran had noticed was that she spent most of her free time around other Heroes or Alfonse. Anna was far too busy to socialize, and she understood that. But Sharena was always open to spend time with her, and she rarely took her up on her offers. Maybe she was still trying to deal with Sharena's outgoing, cheerful personality. Alfonse was more subdued, so she could handle extended contact with him. On the other hand, Sharena was always brimming with energy, and she wasn't always comfortable with that. She really wanted to try, but she was just too nervous to be alone with her.

Kiran hadn't been able to stop thinking about that as she watched the young princess bouncing in place as they prepared to head out. "Beyond this gateway is our next stop: the World of Mystery Renewed!" Anna told them.

"New horizons, meeting new Heroes... I'm trembling with the possibilities!" Sharena squealed happily, making Kiran jump a little. Alfonse held her hand to comfort her and looked sternly at his sister.

"Sharena," he scolded. "Being courteous - even warm - toward Heroes is fine. But don't let yourself get drawn in..." So he was still hung up on that? Well, not like Kiran was going to stop trying to get him to open up. If she could do it, so could he.

"He's right," Anna agreed. "Embla has already invaded. Any Heroes we meet are likely to be our next opponent. Be on your guard. It's time to show them what we can do. We must free the Heroes! Come on."

\--------------------------------------------

"I can't thank you enough for breaking the contract! I'm so glad." This immediately set off alarm bells in Kiran's mind. Could it really be that easy to free a Hero from their contract? There had been a few small incidents where this happened, but they were quite rare. Not to mention, she was well aware of who this girl was: Katarina, real name Reese, an assassin. The most notable mission she got involved was an attempt to assassinate Marth by infiltrating the ranks of his royal guard, though that was a failure. Sure, she was a good person at heart, but what if the contract wasn't actually broken? What if this was a way for her to fulfill her duties as an assassin?

"I am, too! Now that the contract is taken care of, we can put down our weapons and become friends!" Sharena was clearly eager, which only made Kiran more tense. Trust was not something that should be thrown around so simply, especially with assassins. Just to be safe, Kiran brought out Dancing Queen. Arrival was hissing, picking up on her user's suspicions. She put her finger to her mouth to warn the Heroes with her to stay quiet. Thankfully, she hadn't brought anyone from the World of Mystery, so they wouldn't blurt anything out.

Katarina, meanwhile, seemed surprised by Sharena's declaration. "Friends?"

"Of course!" she answered happily. "I hope to become friends with each and every Hero. We've already won quite a few over." Kiran had to admit she had a point. Even the ones that were rougher around the edges were a bit softer around her. Sharena was just impossible to not like. Kiran just preferred to like her from a comfortable distance away. "What do you say?"

"How sweet. Nothing would make me happier," Katarina answered with a faint smile. "I have some allies you might want to meet. They are trapped by the same contract. I'd love to see them freed..."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Where are they?" Sharena asked eagerly.

"I'll show you the way. Follow me, Sharena." Well, she'd give the girl the benefit of the doubt. But if she dared to hurt Sharena... Dancing Queen clenched her fist in anticipation.

\--------------------------------------------

It really was a good thing they'd come prepared. As the group stepped out into the snow, they spotted four figures among the vast expanse of white. Arrival moved in for a closer look, allowing the group to confirm that it was two Emblian soldiers, Athena, and Legion. Just then, Kiran felt an impact from behind, where Dancing Queen had been guarding her. "Ambush!" she yelped, her Stand already pulling back to punch the attacker in the face. She threw the enemy soldier back, where Takumi quickly put an arrow in his throat.

Kiran immediately focused on Arrival, cursing the fact that her Stand was deaf. Legion was speaking, but she couldn't hear a thing from where she was, and she couldn't read his lips with that mask on. "Buckle down and let them come to us!" she ordered. "They've already got the advantage by ambushing us. We need to stay on the defensive until we can get an opening!"

\--------------------------------------------

Bringing Hector was a great idea; he made an amazing meat shield, and he had a really good throwing arm. Whenever someone did manage to get close and hit him, and if they managed to survive his counterattack, Takumi, Reinhardt, or Kiran would attack from behind him and finish them off. Even if he did get hurt, Azama was able to fix him up. But the fact that they had gotten into that situation in the first place was suspicious. How had they been ambushed? Thinking about it, Legion and Athena had both worked with Katarina at different points in time... Dancing Queen grabbed Alfonse's hand and squeezed it to signal him.

"They're not here... Perhaps they escaped!" Katarina said. "Let's go a bit further, and see if we can find them..."

"Yes, let's!" Sharena agreed. "There's no time to waste."

"Sharena... Wait a moment," Alfonse warned. He'd picked up on Kiran's tension, and after she'd just gotten ambushed, he wasn't going to take any chances. The hand squeeze just confirmed that she was as suspicious of the circumstances as he was.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"I'm afraid so. She just led us into an ambush! What's next?" he pointed out. "I don't have hard proof, of course... But I suspect she isn't being honest with you, Sharena."

"Alfonse! How could you say that?" she snapped. "Once she was freed, we became friends. It's only natural!"

"Sharena, please..." he insisted.

"I've heard about this kind of thing," Kiran warned quietly, hoping that no one would overhear. "There was a Stand in the records that would approach its target and help them out, pretending to be friendly. Once they let down their guard, it would secretly attack them with acid. This girl has done something similar before; pretending to be a friend and then betraying her allies to attack her target. It's dangerous to trust people so quickly, Sharena."

"I won't hear any more of this," Sharena stubbornly insisted. "I stand by my friends. I simply can't believe that Katarina would stoop so low."

All the same, Kiran kept Arrival's eyes on Katarina, who had obviously been eavesdropping. She looked troubled, which only furthered Kiran's suspicions that the contract was still intact and she was getting ready to backstab them. This wasn't good; Sharena was going to be heartbroken once they exposed her. But what other choice did she have?

\--------------------------------------------

"This way, Sharena. We're almost there..." Katarina told her. The group had passed through the snow field, and they could clearly see a pair of mountain ranges up ahead, with a path right down the middle of them. Kiran was more tense than ever; that was the perfect place for an ambush. Alfonse grasped her hand to reassure her, prepared for anything. Just to be safe, Kiran sent Arrival forward and had it curl around Sharena's arm, claiming that she just wanted to get a better look at what was ahead.

"I'm right behind you, Katarina," she said eagerly.

Katarina got quiet for a moment, nervously fidgeting. "I know your brother and your friend don't trust me," she started nervously. "You stood up for me, though. Why?"

"What's friendship without trust?" she answered. "It's because we're friends now, Katarina. It's really that simple."

"Yes, I suppose it is," she mumbled. "We had better stop here, then."

"Why?"

"If we continue any further, you'll be caught in a trap that we set for you," she answered.

Arrival hissed, unwinding and moving in front of Sharena to protect her. "A trap?! Wait a moment... 'We set'? What do you mean by 'we', Katarina?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm so sorry, Sharena... Because you really meant it when you called me your friend," Katarina said, looking extremely guilty. "My real name isn't Katarina. It's Reese. And I was sent to kill you. All of you."

"What?!" Kiran was right; Sharena looked absolutely heartbroken. She rushed to her friend's side and gripped her hand, Dancing Queen ready to strike if Katarina got any closer.

"I wasn't supposed to say anything about it, of course... It was a simple plan. With everybody distracted by the battle, my job was to stab Kiran," she explained.

"Too bad for you, I knew something was up from the start," Kiran hissed. "Even in the midst of battle, I wasn't going to let my guard down around you. Still, I noticed you didn't take your chance earlier. Instead, you let someone else attempt to kill me. Why?"

"After speaking with Sharena... I can't do it," she admitted. "No, now... we'll fight you head on." Dancing Queen caught an arrow right out of the sky, distracting them enough for Katarina to make her escape to the other side of the mountains. There was Clarisse, her bow pointed right at them. Legion was right at her side, brandishing his axe. "Legion? Clarisse? I'm sorry for the trouble."

"'Trouble', she says," Clarisse muttered angrily. "Making friends with the enemy! Could you be any more worthless?"

"Uwee hee hee!" Legion laughed loudly. "What a liars you are! You saids 'Dos what you likes!' That's what she didses!"

"Shut up!" Clarisse snapped back. "It's time to clean up this mess."

"Sharena, get back and out of the way!" Kiran warned. Stunned by what had just happened, all she could do was mutely obey. "Okay, Athena's also lurking around on the other side of the canyon where we can't see her. Reinhardt, be ready to deal with her. Hector, can you deal with Clarisse? Takumi can pick off any stragglers, and Azama, stand by and heal if things get too dicey. I'll support where I can! But leave Katarina be; she's mine."

\--------------------------------------------

"Back off; this one's personal!" Kiran ordered. Confused, everyone stood down. The fray was near its end, and Katarina was the last enemy standing. Kiran stormed up to the assassin, shrugging off her spells. She wasn't thinking strategically anymore; all she could think of was the fact that her friend had been hurt by this act of betrayal. Normally, she'd just let the troops handle her, but this time, she wouldn't feel satisfied until she drove her fist into her face personally.

Dancing Queen grabbed her by the throat and effortlessly held her up, knocking her tome out of her hands. "I've been waiting for this moment ever since you first decided to stick with us. I swore to myself that if you dared to hurt Sharena, I'd make you regret it. Not to worry; I'm a forgiving person," she said, grinning mischievously. "You're probably still under the contract's influence, but you still made an effort to warn us about what was going to happen. For that, I promise I'll only use one fist." She snapped her fingers and spun around, spreading out her arms for Arrival to perch on. Dancing Queen released the assassin and struck her chin with an uppercut, punctuated with a loud "ABA!"

Katarina hit the side of the mountain hard enough to crack it. "I've never seen you that upset with someone before," Takumi noted, eyeing her carefully.

"I don't take kindly to betrayal. You of all people should understand that," she told him. "Besides, I was far kinder to her than I could have been."

Katarina pushed herself to her knees, coughing a bit and gingerly holding her jaw. "Thank you for using your strength to free us from the contract," she gasped. "Sharena... I really am sorry. Truly. I know you can't forgive me, but... Hearing you call me a friend... It really did make me happy." But she did not answer, still frozen by everything that had gone down.

"We're heading back."

\--------------------------------------------

"Oh, Katarina," Sharena finally spoke up, still looking upset.

"Sharena... Are you all right?" Alfonse asked, worried.

"I'm sorry, Alfonse, Kiran," she apologized. "In the end... it was just like you said."

"No, it wasn't," Alfonse disagreed. "And that's because you did get through to her. Katarina had a change of heart because of you. If you don't trust people, they can't betray you... And if you don't trust people, you'll never make a connection with anybody. Not truly. Sure, you might be hurt. Lied to, tricked, betrayed... Played for a fool. But trust is a beautiful thing. It doesn't come easily to me, Sharena. But it does for you. That is something special."

"Same here," Kiran admitted. "When you've spent most of your life watching for enemies, trust is something people have to earn from you. I can trust Heroes much more quickly than other people because they're contracted to me, but... it's extremely difficult for me to immediately trust someone I don't know. You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, but you do have a say in who hurts you. I'm... actually jealous that you're brave enough to make those choices."

"Alfonse... Kiran..." she breathed.

"I do hope we meet Katarina again in our travels, don't you?" Alfonse asked.

For the first time in hours, Sharena smiled. "Yes, I do! So very much!"

Kiran smiled; it was good to see Sharena in such good spirits again. Now that she thought about it, she had a few orbs in storage. If she played her cards right...

\--------------------------------------------

Kiran had eagerly rushed straight to the summoning alter as soon as they returned, without even taking a break to eat or sleep. Alfonse had rolled his eyes in exasperation at her workaholic behavior and followed, assuring Anna and Sharena that he'd make sure she didn't overtax herself again. The rest headed to the mess hall for rest, food, and socialization. Spending time with friends like this certainly helped Sharena feel better about what had happened.

Still, she was a bit sad that Kiran had taken off without so much as a word. The summoner was always so skittish, and while Sharena really wanted to be friends with her, she feared that she was messing up. Every now and again, she'd get a little too loud suddenly, and the poor girl would flinch, clinging to Alfonse for comfort. What could she do to get closer to Kiran? Things had gotten a little rough between them earlier, but she didn't seem too upset about it.

"Sharena!" Well, this was rare; Kiran actually seeking her out. Had she just finished summoning? Sharena turned to greet her, only to freeze in shock at the sight of the person next to her. "Yeah, I thought you'd be surprised. I decided to try my luck, and I got her!" Katarina was partially hidden behind Kiran, looking quite nervous. She was eyeing the summoner's back quite closely, apparently still worried about getting punched again.

"Um..." Katarina mumbled, looking everywhere but at Sharena. "I really am sorry about... well, everything, and... I don't know if you're still okay with being friends, but... it'd make me really happy if you did, and-" Sharena cut her off with a tight hug.

"Well, I'll take that as a yes," Kiran laughed. "Glad to see everything worked out so well!"

Sharena then jumped onto Kiran for another hug. "Thank you so much!" she said happily. However, she quickly noticed that Kiran had gone stiff as a board, and let go. "I'm sorry! I keep forgetting that you don't like being touched out of the blue like that!"

"It's okay, really," Kiran said quietly. "You just startled me, that's all." Arrival wound around Sharena's wrist apologetically.

"No, it's my fault. I know it makes you uncomfortable, and I keep forgetting and doing it anyway! I'll never manage to make friends with you if I keep messing up like this!" she lamented.

Kiran blinked owlishly at her, confused. "Aren't we friends already?" she asked. "Was I just misreading the situation again?"

"Really? But you're always so nervous around me. I want you to feel more comfortable around me, like you are with my brother," she explained.

"Because I can connect more easily with calmer people," Kiran told her. "It's harder with loud people or people who are too quiet like me. It's not you that's the problem here, it's me. I'm trying not to be so skittish, but... it's hard. It doesn't mean I don't like you; I do! You're doing great. I just need more time to work past my own limits. I'm sorry if I upset you."

"You didn't, really! I was just worried that I was making you uncomfortable!"

"If I were uncomfortable, Arrival wouldn't enjoy spending time with you so much. Urgh, I know talking to people isn't my strong suit, but we really should have had this conversation earlier. Would have saved us a whole lot of trouble and worry," Kiran sighed. "So, if I'm fine, and you're fine... does that mean we're friends?"

"Of course!" Sharena smiled brightly, and for once, Kiran smiled along with her. Arrival leaned in a little and tickled Sharena's ear with its tongue, making her laugh and Kiran blush. "Two friends in one day... I couldn't be happier!"


	16. I Chase You

Summer got pretty tiring for Kiran. Not only did she get dragged to a beach with Anna and have her preferences questioned (she still hadn't really thought about them), but the Tempest had touched down in the World of Echoes. Luckily, they were able to get there and help out, and even managed to rescue Tobin from the depths by making a contract with him. Hearing him yelp at the sight of Arrival was adorable, and Alm and Gray weren't letting him hear the end of it, even plotting to tell Kliff about it when he eventually showed up. Maybe she should surprise new Heroes with Arrival more often; well, at least the ones that she knew wouldn't attack her if they didn't find her little joke funny.

But eventually, they ran out of distractions. The big issue at hand finally came up again. "If only we knew where to find Zacharias..." Anna mused, frustrated.

"Do you really believe that he's dead?" Sharena asked carefully. This was the first time they'd brought up the issue in a while, but they'd clearly been thinking about it during all of their down time.

"I'm pretty sure Bruno's not telling us the whole truth, at least," Kiran told them. "Whatever he's still hiding is the key to what's going on here. That split personality of his might tie into this mystery as well. If I could just catch him and interrogate him..."

"I... I think we should follow Prince Bruno," Alfonse finally suggested. "We last saw him in the World of Shadows. He may still be there. Only he knows the truth. And if he did kill Zacharias... that is an act I cannot forgive."

"Good suggestion. Even if he's not, there might still be a trail for us to follow," Kiran agreed. "I'll have Arrival on alert, and we'll start looking there."

\--------------------------------------------

"Urgh... argh..."

Kiran raised a hand, halting the advance. Something was hidden somewhere on the other side of the sluice gate. Dancing Queen's eye flashed; Arrival had found Bruno. "Wow, he really didn't go far. He's just over there. But... oh, great, the dangerous one just came out again. Everyone, keep back for now. Let's try to stay inconspicuous," she warned. He started laughing, causing her spine to tingle restlessly. This was a really bad situation to be in. As long as they weren't noticed...

"Prince Bruno!" _Damn it, Alfonse, what part of 'inconspicuous' did you not get?!_

Bruno's attention was immediately drawn to him. "You finally made it. Good. I'm tired of waiting!" he laughed. "Alfonse! Sharena! I'm going to gut you... for starters. Can you get me before I get you? Zacharias is crying out for vengeance!" And with that, he took off once again, leaving them in the dust.

"Okay, plan B! After him! Don't let him escape!" Kiran ordered. _That's odd, though. If he wanted to kill us so badly, why didn't he just do it here?_

\--------------------------------------------

Finally, after hours of chasing and fighting, they managed to corner him in the Temple of Mila. Kiran's legs were burning from the rush, as she'd needed to stay close enough for Arrival to be able to see him. If he got more than 25 meters away from here, it would be all to easy to lose the trail. He seemed to be slowing down on occasion, giving her a chance to stay close. This puzzled her further; if he was really trying to get away from them, why would he do that? Was he trying to lure them here?

"Heh... It's time, spawn of Askr... Time for me to rip you open," he hissed.

Sharena was holding onto Kiran's hand, and for once, the girl didn't stiffen or pull away. "Oh, Kiran... I'm so scared!" she admitted. "He was't like this before... Was he?"

"Whatever's going on with him, it's getting worse and worse as time passes," Kiran supposed.

"I suspect there's a reason for that," Alfonse agreed. "But what I care about right now is finding out about Zacharias. Prince Bruno! What did you do to Zacharias? Tell us everything you know!"

"I don't think we're exactly in a position to be making demands right now," Kiran warned. Arrival was hissing with tension, and Dancing Queen moved right up front to protect her user.

"Heh... You... want to know what... I did?" he panted. "Take... a look... and then... ask me again." Kiran immediately made a note of his change in behavior as he showed the group a gleaming lance, his hand trembling slightly. It was very well-crafted, the same shade of red, silver, and gold as Sharena's own lance. Definitely an Askran-made lance.

"Zacharias's lance!" Sharena cried, confirming Kiran's suspicions.

"Yes, I took his life," he taunted. "He peered into places he should not, and brought one of Embla's secrets into the light... It was so sad... He was all alone... There was nothing he could do to save himself... from me. It was pathetic. With his dying breath... he begged for his life. He called out your names! 'I'll do anything you ask! Just let me live!'"

"Oh, Zacharias..." Sharena was trembling, and Kiran tightened her grip on the princess's hand.

"You... murderer!" Alfonse snapped, drawing his sword.

"Show me how you really feel... with your blade!" Bruno challenged. "You'll be seeing Zacharias soon enough if you do!"

"Eat shit, asshole!" Kiran shot back. "Fall off your horse!"

 _He was fighting for a moment there,_ Kiran thought. _The good one is in charge right now. He's resisting the other one, but he's not doing so well. He's really determined to have us kill him. Was I right before? Is he trying to escape from the other through death? Well, I'm not giving it to him. I just hope Alfonse can realize that death is what he wants, and hold himself back._

"Alright, so we've got him, Clive, Sonya, Gray, Mathilda, and Tobin up ahead," she reported. "Celica, move over to the far left flank to lure Sonya over. Getting her out of the way is a priority. Hector, get ready to chuck an axe at Bruno the second he comes close. We also need to deal with him as quickly as possible. Reinhardt, I'm counting on you to pick off Gray and Tobin. Olivia, get ready to dance if anyone's still in harm's way. Move out!"

\--------------------------------------------

Things were going well, all things considered. Then, without warning, Alfonse took off and made a beeline towards the injured Bruno. "Damn it, Alfonse!" Kiran snapped. She could understand that he was upset, but that was no excuse to run off and ignore her plans! Blinded by rage, he landed a vicious sword strike on Bruno, throwing him from his horse again. He advanced on the fallen prince, ready to sink his blade into his gut. He hadn't taken into account that Mathilda was still on the battlefield, and was preparing to skewer him from behind.

Kiran rushed onto the battlefield and set off Dancing Queen's ability. She wouldn't be able to do much in this short span of time; all she could do was minimize the damage. The lance struck Alfonse's shoulder pad, cracking it and knocking him down to the ground. He landed on his unprotected shoulder with an audible crack. Hector moved in to knock Mathilda from her mount as Kiran carefully helped him to his feet. "What the hell were you thinking?!" she hissed, taking cover behind Hector where it was safe. "Dumbass! What would have happened if I hadn't stepped in?!"

Alfonse bared reacted to her scolding, gingerly holding his arm to avoid jostling his shoulder. The adrenaline seemed to have died down, and he looked properly ashamed of what he had done. Good. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just... All I could see was red. I wanted to hurt him for what he did."

"I understand," she replied. "However, you can't let your emotions cloud your judgement on the battlefield. I expected this kind of thing from Sharena, not you. You need to stay calm and think about this."

"I know. Now that I've calmed down, I can see it. Something's still not adding up here," he told her.

"So you can see it, too? I've had my suspicions about it for a while. I've been thinking about it ever since we met him, and..." She took a deep breath, preparing to jump in. "There's only one conclusion I can come up with that makes any sense. However, I still don't have all of the pieces to figure out what's going on. We'll have to get those from him, and we can't do that if he's dead."

"Well, it looks like the battle's winding down," he noted. "If you really want to interrogate him, now's your chance."

The two cautiously approached the fallen prince, Dancing Queen still out to protect them if need be. The Stand had settled down, so she wasn't dealing with the dangerous one, at least. "Do it. Kill me," he groaned. "Do it now! I told you before... You'll regret it if you don't."

"One last time, Bruno... did you really kill Zacharias?" Alfonse demanded.

"Hah! This again?" he spat. "Yes! I killed him! And I'll make sure you and your sister suffer the same fate!"

"Very well. The time to avenge my friend... has come." Alfonse drew his sword, ready to finish what he'd started. "But before I finish you off, Kiran has a few questions that she'd like answered."

"Thank you, Alfonse." Kiran took a few steps closer, looking down at the injured prince. There was no going back now. If she was wrong, her friends would be hurt, but she knew that she wasn't wrong. "Once again, you seem in a rush to die. I was right before, wasn't I? You're trying to kill yourself, but you can't do it yourself. You need someone else to do it for you. I take it the other one in your mind, the one that wants us dead, is the reason for your desperation. But that wouldn't make sense if you were our enemy; you'd relish the idea of someone trying to kill us in that case. Which means that you don't want to kill us. You're trying to provoke us into killing you in order to save us. But you're still hiding something; likely something that would stop us from doing so if we knew it. There's only one explanation that fits in with all of the details I've put together. I just need to hear it from you."

"Kiran?" Sharena asked, confused.

"Let's start with what we know about what Zacharias had been doing. He'd infiltrated Embla to investigate you. He was the one who told us about you in the first place. But the note with this information was found in the World of Blazing. This meant that he needed a way to be able to cross into other worlds without arising suspicion. The closer he was to the royal family, the easier it would be for him to do so. If Embla shut a gate on him, he'd be trapped, so he'd need a way to ensure that didn't happen. That would only work if the Emblians thought that he was supposed to be there. Soldiers get left behind in the worlds all the time, so it seems that only the royalty can come and go as they please," she summed up.

"When we performed the rite with the sending stone, the only person we spoke to was you," she continued. "We assumed that meant Zacharias was dead. But there's another possibility; the possibility that I imagined. You're unusually muscular for a mage, and look more like someone who's been physically active for most of their life. The only mages who are even remotely muscular like that are the ones that use other weapons regularly. You have Zacharias's spear, but it wasn't damaged at all. It looked very well cared for; an enemy wouldn't bother to do that for a weapon they stole and didn't intend to use. You haven't used it at all. Even if you were keeping it as a display piece, you'd only give it the bare minimum of care. You wear a mask all the time even though there's no point to it. We know your identity as Prince Bruno, so there should be no point to the mask unless you're trying to hide something about your face. And don't underestimate my hearing; I may suck at matching faces to names when I'm unfamiliar with people, but distinctive voices tend to stick in my mind. I may not have seen you, but I heard your voice quite clearly back in the World of Radiance when you saved my life."

"What? No, that can't be true. How can that be?" Alfonse asked, shocked. "If it is, then... that'd mean..."

"What is it, Brother?" Sharena pressed, realization setting in. "That means..."

"Prince Bruno, of the Emblian Empire, I ask you now... Are you Zacharias?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, that was a Jojo reference.


	17. Awake Me From This Nightmare

"I can't believe he escaped!" Kiran snapped, Dancing Queen punching a small crater into the ground as they made their way back to Askr. "How did he manage that?! He was badly injured, we were at a dead end, and he was completely surrounded! And to top it all off, he didn't even answer our questions!"

"Well, him taking off like that is as close to a confession as we're going to get," Alfonse sighed. "But he's still hiding things from us."

"Why would Zacharias be doing this? We were friends... right?" Sharena asked.

"Well, we won't be getting any answers until we can find him and question him again," Anna sighed. "I'll get scouts out into the worlds looking for him. If they spot even a trace of him, they'll let us know immediately."

"Good thinking. Next time, I won't let him get away," Kiran vowed. "He _will_ give us those answers, whether he likes it or not."

\--------------------------------------------

Strange things started happening after Anna had dragged them off to the beach a second time. Kiran had managed to summon the Heroes they'd found, which led to a few laughs at the expense of Xander and Leo. But Kiran couldn't help but notice that Takumi had been unusually quiet lately. Was there going to be another fight between the two royal families? She thought she'd taken care of that, but seeing her friend like that gave her some doubts, even though the other siblings didn't seem to show the same signs of tension. Not only that, she'd been hearing someone walking past her room at night. They'd stop in front of the door as if they intended to knock, wait there for a while, then walk away.

That particular night, she swore that she would catch this person in the act. She left Arrival outside, watching for anybody coming close. She was carefully wrapped around the torch just outside, curling up as tightly as possible in an attempt at camouflage. Dancing Queen was cuddling at Kiran's side, prepared to strike if it turned out to be someone dangerous. It was the best trap she could put together, and while she had no doubts that a skilled assassin could spot it, she didn't really have anything else she could try at the moment. Besides, this would at least let her confirm if someone was out to get her or not.

Footsteps echoed through the hall. Kiran tensed, searching through Arrival's eyes. Someone was coming, and she didn't want to miss them. Clearly, this was no assassin; they'd do their best to silence their steps. What could it be? One of the kids having trouble sleeping? No, the steps were too heavy for that. Someone doing a late night patrol? No, they had the assassins and ninjas for that, just in case. The figure finally came close enough to the torchlight for her to see them, turning to face her door.

"Takumi?" What the hell was he doing up this late? And why come to her door and just stand there? Confused, she opened the door. "What's up? Everything okay?" she asked. He didn't answer and just stared at her, which made her stiffen with discomfort. "Takumi, what's wrong?" Dancing Queen moved in front of her just in case as Kiran tried to think. Did someone hex him or something? She was pretty sure she told all of the dark mages that hexing allies without consent was not allowed... Were they under attack? But then why had he not done anything besides stand there and stare? Before she could question him again, he turned and left without a word. Kiran immediately sent Arrival to go find Saizo and tell him about what was going on. He'd get the word out to keep everyone alert, and hopefully someone would figure out what was going on.

\--------------------------------------------

The next morning, Kiran went straight to the mess hall instead of the library. Kagero had stopped by to report that Takumi had been caught and safely returned to his room, and had seemed alright aside from some slight confusion and disorientation. They'd checked to make sure none of the mages were doing any kind of hex work, and all of them had alibis. They'd also searched for any signs of an intruder, but had found none. She needed to see for herself that he was okay.

Well, he certainly didn't look okay when she saw him there with his family, their retainers, and the Nohrian royals and their retainers. Sakura was gently rubbing his back as he partially lay on the table, with Elise poking at his cheek. "You look like shit," she greeted with a smile.

"Thanks," he mumbled. "I like to look how I feel." Well, he was better off than she thought if he was still able to make snarky comments.

"Think it has anything to do with what happened last night?" she asked. He just groaned and hid his face in his arms.

"Wait, what happened last night?" Hinoka asked.

"I'm still not sure," Kiran admitted. "He just walked up to my door, stopped there staring, and walked away after a few minutes. I was asking questions and everything, but he wouldn't answer me. And I think this has been happening for a while. I've heard someone walk up to my door, stop, and walk away for a few nights now. I honestly thought he'd been hexed, but Kagero said there was no chance of that."

Azura sighed. "So that's why Saizo was half-carrying you back to your room last night. You've been sleepwalking again."

"Sleepwalking?" Kiran echoed.

"It happens sometimes when I have a really bad nightmare. It's nothing to worry about," he told her.

"No, it definitely is. You need to nip this in the bud, and soon. Sleepwalking is not something you want to become a habit. It's dangerous," she scolded sternly. "Considering you've been doing it for a few days now, you're already running that risk. Sleepwalking exhausts you, which just makes you more likely to sleepwalk again the next night. That would explain why you're so tired now."

"I-It's dangerous?" Sakura stammered, looking worried.

"Yep. There've been a few stories I've heard about people who died while sleepwalking because they wandered into a dangerous situation. Walking into roads, drowning from falling off a pier, getting a hold of something sharp... there was even a major story in the news involving a guy who killed his mother-in-law while sleepwalking. Something needs to be done about this," she warned. "And we can't just have somebody keeping an eye on him at all times. Not only does that cut into our manpower, ignoring the problem won't make it go away."

"What do you propose we do?" Ryoma asked, concerned.

"Well, the obvious solution is to find the source of his restless sleep and deal with it. But knowing that it's bad nightmares, it's not going to be that simple," she admitted. "Nightmares happen when one feels anxious. And Takumi has radiated anxiety for as long as I've known him, at least."

"Like you're one to talk. I bet if I pulled that hood of yours up, you'd be out of here faster than Effie can wolf down a meal," he teased. Effie shrugged, not even trying to deny it.

"He has a point," Leo agreed. "So what do you do about anxiety?"

"Well..." she mumbled, twiddling her fingers. "Dancing Queen helps. It's nice to know someone's there to look out for me. I even cuddle with her at night if I'm particularly nervous."

"That's... kind of childish, don't you think?" Takumi asked.

Kiran blushed, but pressed on. "So what? If it helps, it helps. You don't have a right to criticize."

"Turning my own words back on me. You're clearly getting better at talking," he admitted.

"Anyway, I feel less anxious if someone I trust is close by. Dancing Queen is always with me, so that makes me feel even more at ease. People call that a security blanket; something you use to feel comfortable in stressful situations," she finished.

"Well, cuddling someone's not going to work for me. I'll think of something. Try not to worry too much. That'll just stress me out more."

\--------------------------------------------

Kiran was having a rough few days even without worrying about Takumi. Berkut had picked a fight with Alm again, so she'd needed to run interference there. Asshole; who goes and picks fights with a sweetheart like Alm? The Tempest had touched down in the World of Shadows again, and they'd needed to rescue Clive from its howling depths. Not to mention the invasion of the Sacred World and picking up Valter. At least there was no shortage of strong Heroes to spar with him to keep him from going too crazy. Where was Lyon when she needed him?

In all that craziness, she really hadn't had time to think about Takumi's sleepwalking problem. So she was surprised when someone started pounding on her door late at night. Yelping and falling out of bed, she scrambled to the door, hoping they weren't being invaded in the middle of the night. To her surprise, it was Hinoka. "Has Takumi come by here?!" she half-yelled.

"No; I haven't seen him since dinner. What happened?" Kiran asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"Apparently, he started sleepwalking again! No one knows where he went this time! You mentioned that he always stopped by your room, so I thought I'd check!" she growled, frustrated. "He's nowhere in the castle!"

Kiran cursed, sending Arrival up as high as she could go. "Arrival should be able to spot him. If not, I might have to get on your pegasus so we can search from the skies," she assured. "Why did this have to happen at night? It'll be hard to see him when it's so dark out!"

"Keep an eye out for his bow. It was missing from his room," Hinoka advised. "Of course he'd take it with him. You were talking about 'security blankets' before, right? That's his."

"Should I be concerned that his security blanket is a legendary weapon that could decimate an army in the right hands?" Kiran sighed. Searching through Arrival's eyes, she spotted the familiar glow of the Fujin Yumi among the trees of the nearby forest. It wasn't too far from the castle, thankfully. But as she moved in for a closer look, Kiran's heart dropped. "This is bad! He's headed for the lake!" There was a large lake in close proximity to the castle where people would often go fishing. It was a reliable way to keep their food stocks up if anything happened. Now, if they didn't hurry, it would become someone's tomb.

Kiran took off at a breakneck pace, with Hinoka hot on her heels whistling for her pegasus. Arrival moved as far forward as it could, straining to reach. All the while, Kiran was cursing herself for getting so distracted. Sleepwalking wasn't an issue that would just go away after a single talk. She should have checked up on him sooner to make sure he was okay. Hinoka interrupted her self-flagellation by yanking her onto the back of her pegasus and taking off at top speeds over the trees towards the lake. She quickly checked on her friend through Arrival's eyes, only for her heart to start racing at the sight before her. He was crossing the pier, steps somewhat wobbly, and had almost reached the water.

Hinoka seemed to pick up on the tension and spurred her mount on, while Kiran had Arrival wrap around Takumi's arm and try to pull him away from the water's edge. If he woke up now, he'd get startled and fall in, and he'd probably be too disoriented to save himself from drowning. All she had to do was stall him long enough for them to get there. Unfortunately, snakes weren't very good at gripping things due to their lack of arms. Their bodies were designed for squeezing, not tugging. If only she could move Dancing Queen a little further away!

Just as they passed over the lake, a large splash became visible on the inky surface. Kiran winced at the sudden sensation of being underwater; Arrival must have been pulled in with Takumi when he fell. She quickly tugged off her cloak and handed it to Hinoka before diving in herself, ignoring the princess' shocked cry. _Lucky this is happening in August,_ Kiran thought. It was chilly, but not dangerously so. Arrival was poking her head out of the water and hissing, still refusing to release Takumi's arm. Judging from the frantic splashing, he'd woken up when he hit the water at least.

Dancing Queen slipped behind him, grabbing him under his arms and pulling him up. "Don't struggle! You'll drown us both!" Kiran warned, hoping he could hear her. She quickly pulled herself up onto the dock, her Stand right behind her. Takumi was coughing and spluttering all the while, struggling to breathe right. Hinoka finally found a safe spot to land and rushed over to check on her baby brother. "We'll have to let Sakura take a look at him when she finds us," the summoner reported. "In the meantime, can you find Oboro and tell her to bring a change of clothes? If he stays in these wet clothes, it'll sap his body heat and he'll get sick. I'll give him my cloak for now."

"Alright. You take care of him, got it?"

"Absolutely." Hinoka handed back Kiran's cloak, took one last look back to make sure things were okay, and took off to find the others. Kiran immediately got to work preparing a fire. Thank god for survival training from Titania; as the deputy commander of a mercenary group constantly on the move, helping to make a camp in different kinds of environments was expected of her.

\--------------------------------------------

Takumi woke cold and shivering. What happened? He remembered... that nightmare. That same nightmare again. He grimaced; reliving his mother's death was never pleasant. Had he been sleepwalking again? "The idiot returns to the world of the living, I see." He turned over to see Kiran, cloakless, glaring at him with those ice blue eyes of hers. "Then again, I can't fully blame you for this. I knew you were having problems. I should've been more thorough with checking up on you."

"Wha-?"

"You sleepwalked right off the pier into the lake. Lucky Hinoka went and found me or we wouldn't have gotten to you in time. You got lucky, but I'm taking you off active duty tomorrow so you can rest. The possibility of secondary drowning is still there. Oh, right, you wouldn't know what that is... Secondary drowning is when you nearly drown, but then later on your lungs start to swell up from the irritation, causing you to drown on dry land." Kiran was going off on another tangent, nervously looking around everywhere. Where was her cloak?

Takumi tried to sit up, noticing that she'd thrown her cloak over him like a blanket. Only then did he notice his clothes hanging on a tree branch. The realization quickly set in, and he blushed. "You- Did you- Seriously?!" he snapped.

Kiran blushed right back. "It was an emergency! Wearing wet clothes is bad for you! I lent you my cloak to cover up until Oboro gets here with a change of clothes. Don't worry; I didn't look at any of the... risque parts. Besides, you're not the first naked man I've seen..." she mumbled. As if realizing what she'd just said, she blushed even redder and curled up into a ball. "Oh, god, _please_ don't tell anyone I told you that! It's not my fault my stupid brother never locked the door!"

"I won't; don't worry about it," he assured. "Thanks... for saving my life."

"Any good person would have done the same. It was nothing special," she mumbled shyly. "So, I've put this off for far too long, and you've been avoiding talking about it for too long. Your nightmares... have you found any way to cope? The sleepwalking tells me otherwise, but I need to hear it from you."

"...No," he admitted, sitting up and pulling her cloak tighter around him. "I've tried just about everything I could think of. I even went to the healers to see if they had anything for poor sleep. But... nothing helped. I just keep seeing that nightmare over and over again. I don't even know what set them off this time!"

Kiran hummed to herself, her finger at her chin. "I think I know something that might help. But I'll need some time to put it together. In the morning, I'll head down to the marketplace and look around for supplies. I just hope red willow and stinging nettles grow in this world... And I hope Feh is molting soon so I can get feathers more easily."

"I thought your world didn't have magic," he accused.

"Not necessarily. Just... something that helped me through my own nightmares, when even Dancing Queen couldn't calm me down," she explained. "If I can find enough supplies, I can make more if other people are having nightmares. I know Tiki could probably use one..."

Her musing was interrupted by Ryoma forcing his way through the trees. "Takumi, are you alright?!" he demanded, worried. Kiran flinched, startled by his sudden appearance and the fact that she wasn't covered up. "Wait, who are you?!"

"Ryoma, that's Kiran!" Maybe she should start taking off her hood more often...

\--------------------------------------------

The next day, Kiran spent most of her time shut up in her room. Arrival curled up around the torch outside and hissed angrily at anyone who dared to come close; her way of signalling that she absolutely did not want to be disturbed. She'd made a quick trip down to the marketplace with Anna to get whatever she'd been looking for, but no one had seen her since. What could she have been up to?

Finally, just as Takumi was finishing up a little light reading in the library, Kiran slipped in, looking happier than she had in days. "I did it!" she whispered, trying to stay quiet. She was holding something strange in her hands; what was that? "It's a dreamcatcher. One of my classmates was Ojibwe, and she taught us how to make them. It's a spiritual thing for them. You're supposed to hang it over your bed at night. According to folklore, the good dreams pass through on the feathers, while the bad dreams get lost and become trapped within the beads, where they're destroyed at sunrise."

"You really think this will work?" he asked skeptically.

"It couldn't hurt. It certainly helped me when I moved away from home. I left mine behind when I came here, so I had to weave you one from scratch. That's why I spent all day in my room; I'm not really dexterous, so detailed work like this is a bit difficult for me, and I really wanted to get this right," she admitted shyly. Her fingers were slightly reddened, and it looked like she'd nicked herself on the wood more times than not. "Besides, nightmares come from stressing out. Believing that it will work might help calm you down."

"...You have a point. It couldn't hurt to try, I guess."

\--------------------------------------------

The next morning, Kiran immediately rushed over to the mess hall to see if it worked. Hinata intercepted her on the way there, a huge grin on his face. "Hey, Kiran! Whatever you did last night, it worked! Thanks a bunch!"

"Really? I'm glad to hear it! How is Takumi?" she asked, curious.

"He's still sleeping. I didn't want to bother him when he's been so tired lately. Normally, he'd have woken up from a nightmare and just not bothered to go back to sleep. I can't remember the last time he got a full night's sleep!" he admitted. "So, again, thanks!"

"You're welcome!" she replied, grinning from ear to ear. Well, looked like it worked! Word would probably get out about her dreamcatcher after that, and she wouldn't be surprised if someone asked her for one sooner or later. Well, if they were helping, she'd gladly keep practicing making them. Anything to help out anywhere she could.


	18. Solemn Vow

Things had finally picked up a little. Anna had quickly taken notice of Kiran's dreamcatchers; after all, she'd been the one to help her find the supplies. After much convincing, she'd managed to get Kiran interested in the idea of making dreamcatchers to sell. She had been a little hesitant, but when Anna had phrased it as 'providing financial aid to the Order', she caved. Business started to boom, as she had anticipated. But because Kiran was the only one who knew how to make them and she wasn't that good at teaching others how, they were having a few issues matching the supply to the demand.

The order had also needed to make a quick expedition to chase Embla forces out of the temple of Vaskrheim, and Kiran had summoned some Brave Heroes that had been dragged into Askr by the wishes of people in her own world. Bizarre, but not bizarre enough for her to question it. After all, Vaskrheim was where Breidablik had been found. If she'd been dragged here with it, their worlds had to be connected in some way. The group was on their way back, chatting about things.

Sharena eventually jumped to a topic that everyone had been avoiding for a while. "Zacharias... Where do you think he is right now?" she asked.

"I have no idea," Alfonse sighed. "All I know is that he vanished without a word, and Kiran has been upset about it ever since. He was our friend. Was Kiran right about why he hid his identity from us? And why he chose to side with Embla? I need to understand what's going on. We have to find him."

"As soon as we get a lead on where he ran off to, we'll go for it," Kiran assured. "And I won't let him escape until he's told us everything."

"Get ready, then!" Anna ordered, passing a treat to Feh. The little messenger had come while they were talking, passing on a report. "We have fresh info on Prince Bruno - no, Zacharias. Now's your chance to find out the answers you're looking for. He's in the World of Radiance. Let's go!"

\--------------------------------------------

"I see him," Kiran warned, Dancing Queen braced behind her in case of an ambush. "He's muttering something, but I can't hear him from this distance. We should hurry if we want answers; looks like the other one is trying to come out."

Arrival twisted in the air, winding into the shape of a hoop over their target. He was quite a distance away, but Kiran could already hear his muttering more clearly than before. "Another... dead end. I search, and I search... but nothing. I learn... nothing. My time... is running out," he hissed, clutching his head.

"Zacharias!" Alfonse called, startling him.

"Urgh... Alfonse..." he groaned.

"Please... tell me," he begged. "What's happened to you? I can't understand what you're doing!"

"In the end, all of Embla's royalty... are devoured by the dark god. We become puppets... I can't fight the blood flowing through my veins," Bruno explained sadly.

"So I was right," Kiran sighed. "Attempted suicide by cop."

"God? What god is this? Tell me!" Alfonse pressed.

"As a prince, I carry the cursed blood of Embla," he continued. "Yet in Embla... I was despised by the royal family. Both my mother and I were... They claimed she shared imperial secrets with Askr... and they imprisoned her for it. She died in isolation... Thanks to their cruelty. And me? I was cast out - sent to the border. Assuming a new identity, I entered Askr. I became your friend... These were necessary steps toward destroying Embla, my homeland."

"Zacharias..." Alfonse breathed, shocked.

"But that Emblian blood pulses within me. Whatever I do, I live knowing one thing: its curse will consume me. Had I stayed at your side, I would have killed you and your sister. So I left. And I sought a way... to fight it," he finished. Arrival instantly snapped to attention, hissing with alarm, and Dancing Queen re-positioned herself to the front.

"Zacharias? What's going on?" Alfonse asked, concerned.

"Shit; it's the other!" Kiran warned. "The other one that's controlling him is coming out!"

"Time's up. Run. Run now! Before I kill you!" he warned desperately.

"Hector, you know what to do!" Kiran ordered. "Commence Operation: Meat Shield! Julia, back him up! Reinhardt, be ready to pick off the stragglers! Camus, if anyone gets close, gut them! As for me," she mumbled, picking up a few rocks and passing one to Dancing Queen, "I need to work on my aim so I can fight at a distance. This is an excellent opportunity to get some practice in!"

\--------------------------------------------

The last of the enemy mages fell with a hit to the chest from a high speed rock. Kiran cursed, putting up her fingers like she was trying to take a picture. "Damn it, I missed again! How hard can it be to hit someone in the forehead?"

"Surprisingly difficult," Reinhardt assured. "Hitting a distant target isn't nearly as easy as some of us make it look."

Bruno was already trying to pull himself back onto his horse after having taken another axe to the chest courtesy of Hector. Seriously, how many times had Hector hit him like that? How had he not been killed accidentally by this point? "No, not yet... Not... yet!" he snarled. Kiran tensed as the shaking, panting, and sweating stopped as suddenly as it had started.

"He lost," she warned.

The creature within laughed at them. "Oh, children of Askr... it's time to die. Die in agony!" But instead of attacking them, he fled further into the world.

"Was he... Did he fight back just enough to move himself away from us so he wouldn't hurt you?" Kiran wondered. "No matter; after him! But proceed cautiously!"

\--------------------------------------------

Finally, he stopped running! Kiran was thankful that she'd brought Reinhardt; getting a ride on horseback was much faster and much better for her legs than having to walk everywhere. The group positioned themselves in the courtyard carefully, never taking their eyes off of the possessed prince. Kiran grimaced; she knew that for him to have stopped fleeing, that meant Bruno was either unable to continue fighting back and keeping him away, or he was starting to take control back.

"Zacharias..." Alfonse was clearly upset, and Kiran couldn't blame him. If she saw him like that, made a puppet of a mad god, it would make her sick.

"I never know when the blood will take me... And when it does... I cannot resist," Bruno told them. "Not I. Not Veronica. Not our father, the emperor. Not anyone... This dark god... seeks death. And cries out for the destruction of Askr. You can't have realized this, but once... as we traveled together... I tried to kill you."

"What? You-"

"I have tried to kill myself," he interrupted. "But even that escape eludes me."

"So you threw together this whole scheme of claiming that you murdered Zacharias so that Alfonse would do it for you," Kiran finished. "I was right on the money."

"Please. Kill me, before I kill you!" he begged. "Kill you... Kill you all!" he laughed, sending Dancing Queen on high alert.

"Zacharias!"

"He can't hear you! He's gone again!" Kiran warned. "We need to take him down quickly, but keep him alive!"

"Want me to chuck Armads at him again?" Hector asked.

"Actually, I need you to handle Ike this time around. I think too many hits to the chest with that would be far too risky. Julia? Can you make the shot?" Kiran asked.

"I need to get a bit closer," she answered.

"Got it. You slip off to the left and lure him in closer. I'll stay with you and try chucking a rock at him when he charges. That might distract him long enough for you to get a hit in," Kiran decided. "You guys can handle things on this end. Hector, as I said, I need you to deal with Ike. Reinhardt, when Oscar gets close, get him. Camus, your target is Elincia. But you've got to take your targets down quickly. The Black Knight is pretty slow, but he can instantly move over to an injured opponent if they don't get taken down quickly enough. Don't worry about the ward that was protecting him earlier; it's gone now. Now, move out!"

\--------------------------------------------

Kiran was quite pleased with herself. That last shot caught Bruno right on the forehead, knocking him from his horse. Seriously, how many times had they thrown him off by this point? Sure, she was aiming for that stupid mask, but at least she was able to hit his head this time! Julia then finished it up with a powerful strike. Arrival settled out of her alert position, indicating that the mad god was gone. This was their chance! "Please..." he begged, struggling to his knees.

"Zacharias..."

"What's stopping you? Kill me!" he demanded.

Dancing Queen brought her fist down on his head, glaring like a mother scolding a child. "Nope," Kiran answered, popping the 'p'.

"You're our friend, Zacharias. I cannot kill a friend," Alfonse added. "I wish you had told us about this sooner... Why did you wait?"

"It's as the Summoner said. I knew you would be too kind... No matter the danger, no matter what I said... you'd try to save me. Regardless of the cost. I know you well enough to know that." he sighed. "How could I tell you?"

"Zacharias, I'm going to tell you this only once," Anna said firmly. "You're a member of the Order of Heroes. You can't just quit. If you can't fight your blood, we'll find a way to fight it - together. We travel countless worlds... Surely, one of them must hold the key to freeing you."

"So you say, Commander. But I have searched... I've traveled from realm to realm... but it's like seeking one grain of sand in a vast desert. My hope is gone," he answered sadly.

"If you know Alfonse, and you know us... Then you know that we could never kill you once we knew the truth," Anna continued. "Your plan - to hide your identity, become our enemy, and be killed by us - has failed. If you care for Alfonse and Sharena... If you want to see them live... then you will never give up. We won't."

Bruno sighed, knowing that there was no convincing them now. "I have no choice but to return to Embla," he said. "You should head back to Askr."

"Can't you come with us?" Sharena asked pitifully.

"I am sorry, Sharena. I cannot. Before long, I will try to kill you," he told her, gently wiping her tears away. "I will stop seeking my own death. I will resume my search across the realms... There must be a path that leads to freedom." He then turned his attention to the quiet summoner, her face hidden and her thoughts completely inscrutable. "I'm counting on you to look after my friends, Kiran. And if I ever make another attempt on Alfonse or Sharena's life... Kill me. Consider it my last request..."

He certainly wasn't expecting another smack. "Nope."

"But-"

Another hit. "Nope. Every time you say that, I'm going to hit you," she scolded.

"Stop acting like a child!"

Another hit. "Nope! Now shut up and listen to me." She took a breath to calm herself; it wouldn't do to be angry with his selfishness now. "This power I have, the power you wanted me to use to protect your friends in your stead... it's capable of many things. There are quite a few like me in my world, and it's possible one might have an ability that can fix this. However!" she warned, twisting her body to the left and jabbing her finger into his face. "There is one thing these powers absolutely cannot do, under any circumstances! One ability that is eternally out of our reach! That ability is... bringing back the dead!"

She spun on her heel and drew her hand back to cover her face. "So don't you dare think about dying again! If you die, that's it! I won't be able to do anything for you anymore! And did you even consider how the others would feel? Alfonse, Sharena, Anna... what about your poor sister? Did you intend to just leave Veronica to suffer the same curse as you? So selfish!" she snapped. "Live, idiot! Live until we find a solution! Do you think this problem will just disappear if you die? Well, it won't! So put a cork in it and help us find a more permanent solution!"

Everyone was absolutely frozen in shock. "Wow, Kiran," Sharena breathed. "That was amazing!"

"What was with the posing?" Alfonse asked.

Kiran, now blushing, tugged her hood down and made herself as small as possible. "It makes me feel cooler..." she mumbled.

"Alright, you've made your point," Bruno grumbled, getting to his feet. "Fine, then. I won't ask that of you again."

"You'd better not ask that of _anyone_ again. Am I clear?" she snapped curtly.

"Yes," he answered, probably rolling his eyes behind that mask. "You've got a good friend here, Alfonse. Make sure she knows exactly how much you appreciate her."

"Of course." Alfonse reached out, feeling around for something he couldn't see. Dancing Queen gently took a hold of his hand, assuring him. Kiran was right; with all of them putting a plan together, they'd be sure to save him. That might even stop the war between Askr and Embla, and bring about the peace they'd been fighting for for so long.

Kiran grasped Dancing Queen's other hand and smiled at her prince. Now that they'd found the cause of the fighting, they could take the first steps towards putting an end to it. And she would, without a doubt. Maybe then... Well, no need to get ahead of herself. They still had a long way to go, but as her dad always said, 'many hands make light work'. And they were bringing together more and more hands the more time she spent with them. They could do this.

\--------------------------------------------

_"Hurry, this way!"_

_"Are you sure about this? It'll be bad if she finds out."_

_"I'm certain. More certain than I've ever been about anything."_

_"She'll punish you severely for this."_

_"I know... But still! This is the only way!"_

_"Come with me, then!"_

_"I can't; she'll be suspicious if I'm gone. But you must escape from here!"_

_"Will I... remember any of this? Will you?"_

_"I'm not sure. This has never been done before. But even if we don't remember, this is a chance that we must take."_

_"...Be careful, alright? And take care of yourself."_

_"Farewell, Bruno. May we meet again."_


	19. Celebration

Kiran sighed happily, getting Alfonse's attention. "A Performing Arts festival! That sounds so fun!" She was full of energy, almost resembling Sharena more than her usual self. They'd been invited to spend time at the festival after saving it from the earlier Emblian invasion, so they'd all rushed back home to get ready and bring everyone else. He would have thought she'd be stressed out, worrying about how to make sure none of the... less moral Heroes caused any trouble. "This is the perfect way to get things to settle down around here! The Greil Mercenaries were so pissed when I brought the Black Knight out of the Tempest with me... maybe this will help diffuse some of this crazy tension!"

"I didn't think you'd be interested in something like that," he admitted.

"Not many do. I guess my love of music outweighs my nervousness around people!" she laughed, grinning ear to ear. "I was raised around music my whole life! I've got two left feet when it comes to dancing, but I absolutely love to sing! It's so hard to talk in front of a large crowd, but singing in front of a crowd isn't difficult for me at all! I'm just... I'm always eager to sing! I don't even know or care if I'm any good at it, really!"

"In that case," he started, "how about singing some songs from your world? I'm sure they'd be interesting to hear!"

"Ooh, that's going to be tough," she admitted. "I'd need to find something that won't use too much unfamiliar terminology. I'd have to be able to hum the instrumental parts. Oh, and nothing too dark, too somber, or too childish; need to balance the tone out for a festival atmosphere. I'll think of something; no need to worry!" Someone dashed down the hallway behind them and fled into the library, setting off Arrival's warning signal. "But I'll have to do that later. Right now, there's someone I really need to talk to, and I've finally found where he's been hiding..."

\--------------------------------------------

The library was not Laslow's first choice of hiding place, but it was the closest one. That had been way too close! He'd almost run into his mother again! Things were getting more and more complicated the more people showed up in this world. Hiding from people from the World of Awakening who would have recognized him quickly became a daily routine. He knew Odin and Selena were also having rough times of it, which had led to them meeting up late at night to plan emergency escape routes. Especially Odin; Lissa was already suspicious, and she was scarily persistent when she got an idea in her head.

Everything changed for the worst after the battle at the festival, where he'd very nearly run into himself. Unlike the other alternates, this one was using his old name. And now they were all invited to spend time there and celebrate! Normally, he loved festivals; growing up in an apocalyptic world didn't exactly give someone regular opportunities to get out and enjoy themselves. But he didn't know how much longer he could keep this up!

Kiran had not helped one bit... She'd been the one to bring it up in the first place!

\--------------------------------------------

_"Pardon me, but is something on your mind, Xander?" she asked, looking over the stage._

_"Well, it might just be me overthinking things, but... that young man Inigo greatly resembles Laslow, wouldn't you say?" he mused. Laslow froze, following his lord's gaze to his younger self, gracefully gliding across the stage with his mother._

_"Absolutely. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were twins," she agreed._

_"_ Do _you know better? Laslow rarely speaks of his family; it's possible that they could be." He breathed a sigh of relief. Good; he could work with this. All he needed to do was 'confirm' his lord's theory, and-_

_"Nope. They're from two different worlds, remember?" she answered. "And those worlds aren't separated by a simple time skip like the World of Binding and the World of Blazing are." Oh, he'd forgotten about that part; he'd have exposed himself in seconds if he'd spoken up!_

_"Though it is strange," Niles interrupted, glancing at Laslow out of the corner of his eye. "These two look almost exactly the same, and yet they're from two different worlds, like you said." Laslow didn't dignify him with a response, hoping that if he ignored him, he'd drop it._

_\--------------------------------------------_

He didn't. Ever since, Niles had been pestering him, trying to get him to slip up. It was honestly hard to tell if he was actually curious, was genuinely concerned about Leo's safety, or just wanted to tease him and make him uncomfortable. He was sure Odin and Selena were getting the same treatment because of their association with him. Worse, Saizo got word of what was going on, worried about a potential risk to Ryoma, and joined in. He was far more subtle about it, though. He wasn't even safe when he was alone anymore, because Saizo was probably hiding somewhere waiting to pounce! What to do...?

"There you are." Someone poked him in the back. Laslow yelped, causing Kiran to shush him, irritated. "This is a library, idiot! Be quiet!"

"You startled me! Do you always sneak up on people when you want to talk to them?!" he asked, blushing.

"Only when they're avoiding me. And you seem to be avoiding everyone as of late," she accused.

"I don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about," he deflected, smiling. "I haven't been avoiding anyone. I've just been busy. With Lord Xander back, I've helpfully been made aware of how much I've been slacking off."

Kiran sighed, probably rolling her eyes under her hood. "You're a terrible liar. I suck at picking up on people lying, and even I know you're bullshitting me. Don't try to hide things from me, _Inigo_."

He froze, looking at her in shock. "So you know," he realized.

"Of course I do. I also know all about Valla, and why you, Owain, and Severa were brought there from your old world," she answered. He flinched, and she smirked. "Don't worry; I won't die from that. Time and space have very little meaning here. After all, Heroes get called here from many different points in time. The curse will be broken in all worlds at some point. Because of that, the curse of Valla can't kill anyone as long as they're in Askr. Nifty little loophole, don't you think?"

"You could've said something about that sooner, you know. Saved us all a lot of trouble..."

"No one asked. I know, I know, I'm a little scatterbrained when it comes to these things. Seriously, though, what's stopping you from telling them the truth?" she asked. "Even before me telling you that the curse was ineffective, you aren't in any danger from someone knowing your identity here. All it's doing is causing a lot of unnecessary tension for you and your friends."

"That's... complicated," he mumbled, looking down.

"Guilt from leaving your home and family behind for so long, with only a note as an explanation? The fact that you've been hiding the truth for so long, letting it get out in the open seems almost unthinkable? Maybe a little bit of both? Am I anywhere in the right wheelhouse?" she asked.

"...A little bit of both, actually," he admitted shyly. "You've been sticking your nose into a lot of people's private businesses, haven't you?"

"Only out of boredom, I assure you. When I get bored, I start hoarding information. I never intend to tell anybody; I just like knowing things for the sake of knowing them. I wouldn't worry; there are wards up so that the only people who can get at that hidden information are me and the royalty. Alfonse browses for general information, but Sharena prefers talking to people to learn about them," she explained.

"Now, enough deflecting. You're throwing me off-topic. The topic here is you. There's really no harm in telling people the truth now. I'm not going to tell you that it's not a big deal, because it is to you. I know how it feels; being so scared to tell someone something that it negatively impacts your mood and social life. But that's why I can tell you that you being so nervous about it is only hurting you in the end. When it happens to me, I end up slipping into a spiral of self-loathing, hating myself for getting so stressed out over something that I know is minor. If everyone knew, at least you wouldn't have to jump out of windows to avoid your own mother," she said.

"That was one time," he grumbled. "Well, what do you propose I do about it? You're about as shy as I am; what would you do?"

Kiran thought about it for a moment. "You need to remove the source of the problem. In this case, that's your secrets. Telling someone the truth and getting it out of the way is your best bet. It's like ripping off a bandage... Oh, right, uh, bandages in my world are sticky to keep them from slipping off. Pulling them off hurts either way, but it's generally considered less painful to give it a good yank instead of pulling it off slowly. I'd definitely go one at a time," she stated. "Speaking with someone one-on-one is way easier than speaking to a group. Plus, that way you can get some practice in for telling someone else about it later on; rehearsing what I want to say always helps me. I'd advise starting with Xander. I don't know why you're so comfortable around him when he's so intimidating, but you are."

"He's not _that_ intimidating. You said it yourself; he's a big softie underneath it all," he insisted. "Of course, I'd never say it to his face like you did."

"Saying something and fully believing something are two completely different things. You can know that something will most likely not hurt you and still be afraid of it," she said. "He's also less likely to overreact or interrupt you, so that's a plus. Anyways, start with him, and get some practice in with telling people. You probably want to finish with your mother, right? That's going to be the most intimidating. But like my dad told me every time I had a big test coming up, 'if you're not even a little nervous, you're overconfident'. Bringing someone with you for assurance can also make things easier. Speaking to a group is nerve-wracking, but speaking with a group makes me feel more confident."

"So, you think I should get Odin and Selena to do this as well?" he asked. "They're not in nearly as dire straits as I am."

"Odin has been pushing himself way past his limits to avoid spending time in the infirmary just to get away from Lissa, and Selena has been running off into town every time she happens to spot Cordelia, and ends up going on her excessive shopping sprees as a result. If anything, they're worse off than you," Kiran complained. "So, yeah, I'd get them in on it. I'd rather not have the Order end up broke, or have Odin pass out from an injury he didn't get treated. I'd tell them myself, but they've gone into hiding too."

"Fine. I'll... try. I just need you to keep my mother away from me until I'm ready. And tell Saizo that I'll tell him what's going on when I'm good and ready, so he can stop spying on me," he groaned.

"See that you do." Saizo appeared from under one of the tables, startling the two. With one last glare at Laslow, he departed as silently as he had arrived.

"I freaking _hate_ ninjas. No sense of privacy!" Kiran hissed, pressing her hand to her face.

"Says the one hoarding information on everyone's secrets," he teased.

"Hey, reading about someone to get a better understanding of them is way less invasive and uncomfortable than spying on them directly. Believe me, if this issue wasn't negatively impacting your performances, I'd leave it be, keep quiet, and let you handle it on your own time. But after the festival, there's going to be a hell of a lot of questions about you and Inigo, and people already know I'm not going to say a damn thing about it, so they'll come after you. Xander, Niles, and I aren't the only ones who will notice how alike you two look. Best to reveal it on your own terms rather than spend the rest of your time here dodging nosy people. I'll be distracting Olivia for you. And I've got the perfect excuse to talk to her..."

\--------------------------------------------

"Ah, Olivia! Just the dancer I was looking for!" Olivia, startled from her daydreaming about the festival, looked over to see Kiran approaching her in the courtyard.

"Oh, hello, Kiran!" she greeted. "You were looking for me?"

"As a matter of fact, I was. See, Alfonse just pitched a very interesting idea for me; performing some songs from my own world at the festival tonight!" she started. "I love singing, so of course I took him up on the offer, but I can't dance at all. So, I was wondering if we could do a... double performance, I suppose. Like, I sing, you dance."

"Hmm... I don't know," she mused. "Putting together a dance is a lot of hard work; definitely more than a day's worth. I'd also need to match it to the music, of course. But it would be interesting to hear the kinds of songs that you know... I don't see why we can't try, at the very least."

"Great! Do you know anywhere where we can do it... you know, privately? I'd like to keep it a surprise, if we can pull it off," Kiran asked.

"Oh, I know just the place! I go there to practice my dancing all the time!" Olivia took Kiran's hand and led her off, down towards the forest. "Just past the lake, a little further to the south, there's a secluded clearing hidden among the really thick trees. It's the perfect spot for dance practice! No one's walked in on me yet!"

Kiran, smiling, signaled Arrival. The serpent, coiled around Laslow's arm, hissed and vanished, letting him know that the coast was clear. "Well, best get it over with..."

\--------------------------------------------

"That... was... amazing," Kiran breathed, mesmerized by Olivia's steps. They'd been practicing for so long that the sun was starting to sink below the horizon. How long had they been out there? She'd honestly lost track of how much time had passed. How much fun had they been having that they hadn't noticed?

Olivia blushed and hid her face. "Oh, it wasn't that great, really!" she stammered. "If anything deserved praise, it was your singing. You're so passionate!"

"You really think so? Thanks!" Kiran said, blushing to match her friend. "But you adapted so quickly! And you even took the time to teach someone as clumsy as me a few steps! I think we could actually pull this off!"

"Well, then we'd better head back or we're going to miss the festival!" Olivia warned.

"Are you sure I didn't exhaust you?" Kiran asked, concerned.

"I'm okay, really! I'll just get a little rest and some water back at the castle, and I should be fine!" she assured. "Besides, that kind of performance should be saved for the grand finale. That'll give us some more time to prepare."

"You're really looking forward to this, aren't you?" Kiran asked.

"Oh, yes! I love festivals! And it'll be wonderful to see my Inigo again. He's such a sweet boy, and he looked amazing all dressed up like that!" Olivia swooned. "It'll be wonderful to see him dance. He was always too shy to show me before."

"You really love him, don't you?"

"Of course! He's my precious son, after all. I should introduce you when we go back there! You get along with so many people, I think you'd be able to make friends with him easily!" she suggested. "Oh, but if he flirts with you, I apologize in advance."

 _We already are, in a way,_ Kiran thought to herself. "Well, we'd better get going, like you said. We wouldn't want to be late!"

\--------------------------------------------

Laslow was right there to meet them as they approached the gate that would take them back to the festival grounds. "Good, you made it! Everyone else has already left; it's just us here now," he told them.

"Thanks for waiting for us, Laslow," Kiran thanked, noting with pride that he wasn't making an effort to run or hide from Olivia. Said dancer was looking at him with wide eyes. She'd caught glimpses of him around the castle every now and again, but this was the first time they'd been face-to-face; he'd made sure of that.

"W-What? You... are you...?"

He blushed, looking down nervously. "Well, that's... I don't really know how to start," he admitted. Arrival slipped away from Kiran and wrapped around his ankle, giving him a little nuzzle. "It's... it's certainly been a while... mother."

"Inigo? Is that really you?" she gasped.

"It's me, mother. There's so much I want to tell you. Kiran, could you go on ahead? We'll catch up with you later," he assured.

"If you're sure. Good luck!" Kiran headed through the gate, turning back and smiling at the sight of Laslow embracing his beloved mother for the first time in a long time.

\--------------------------------------------

Kiran needed to take a break. She loved festivals, but sometimes the loud and crowded atmosphere could be a bit much for her. She curled up in a quiet corner and pulled her hood in tight, breathing deeply to calm herself. She'd be okay; she just needed a little time to de-stress. She really hoped no one ran into her; she didn't want to bring down anyone's mood. "Kiran?" Spoke too soon; how did Xander find her? "Are you well?"

"I'll be fine," she panted. "Just need to... calm myself a bit. It's... it's just a bit loud. Just need a little... time to... get used to it. Happens all the time, don't worry."

"If you're certain. Would you mind if I kept you company until it passes?" he offered.

"I wouldn't want to bother you," she mumbled shyly.

"It wouldn't be a bother at all. I was looking to speak to you anyway." Kiran nodded and shifted over, giving him room to sit down beside her. "I wanted to thank you. I'd noticed that Laslow had been out of sorts for some time now, but he wouldn't tell me what was wrong until you spoke to him."

"I can sympathize with him. It's hard to tell someone that something is bothering you, especially if you're already shy to begin with," she admitted. "If it wasn't causing problems for him, I fully intended to leave it as it was. But it was, unfortunately. I don't know if you heard about the incident?"

"Ah, yes, Peri did mention him jumping out of a window in the middle of a conversation. Speaking of Peri, she's been looking for you to thank you as well. She was quite upset seeing him so distressed. I think she may have been planning to find whoever was causing it and stab them," he told her. "Her heart was in the right place, at least."

Kiran paled slightly. "Memo to me; bring Peri on the next mission so she stabs the enemy and not us," she mumbled. "Anyway, I'm feeling better now. I'm ready to get back in. Thanks for talking with me; it actually helped me get my mind off of things."

"Think nothing of it. I'd be glad to speak with you again if the opportunity arises," he said.

\--------------------------------------------

"You made it!" Inigo was as cheerful as ever, rushing to greet Kiran the second he noticed her. "And might I say you're looking lovely tonight, summoner!"

Kiran blushed, still not used to the idea of being flirted with. "W-Well... I... uh..." she stammered.

Xander took a good look at the boy, who shrunk back and blushed upon noticing him. "I can clearly see the resemblance up close like this," he said.

"Ah! Lord Xander! Kiran! There you are!" Laslow immediately rushed up to join them, Olivia hot on his heels.

"Wait, what-"

"Oh, I'm you in a few years," Laslow said offhandedly, looking his younger self over. "Though I must say I'd forgotten how dashing I looked at that age. Especially the outfit. Did mother make it?"

"She did, actually. Hmm... looking at you, I seem to have grown up quite handsomely as well!" Inigo noted happily. Considering what he'd already been through, Kiran wasn't surprised that running into his future self had barely fazed him. "Oh, summoner! I heard through the grapevine that you'll be singing tonight! Are you nervous?"

"A little. But if I'm not nervous at all, I'm overconfident," she stated. "I just need to focus on the music and my worries will vanish!"

"That's the spirit! I need to go get ready for my own performance now, but hopefully we can chat later over a cup of tea!" He took off before she had a chance to turn him down, leaving Xander shaking his head.

"So, you've always been like that?" he asked wryly.

"I've grown up a little since then! Have a little faith in me, lord Xander!" Laslow whined.

"I do when it doesn't involve women," he retorted.

"I'm so sorry for his behavior!" Olivia yelped, bowing suddenly.

"Mother!" Laslow groaned, blushing.

"Well, I'm going to go ahead and get things ready. We'll need proper music for our performance tonight. Luckily, I learned how to read music in high school," Kiran said. "I'll leave you three to get acquainted, okay?"

"Okay. See you then, Kiran!" Olivia replied.

"Thanks for all of this. Really, I appreciate it more than you could possibly know," Laslow thanked.

Kiran smiled and took off. Just a few more touches before the big moment... This was going to be so fun!

\--------------------------------------------

All too soon, the moment arrived. Kiran stepped out onto the stage with Olivia, Arrival spread across her shoulders and arms like a feather boa. The snake nuzzled her neck for a little encouragement, chasing away the last of her nerves. She looked out at the crowd, taking in the view. Alfonse was right up front with Sharena and Anna, giving her a look of encouragement. Laslow was sitting with Xander and Peri, looking about as excited as she was. Odin and Selena had both invited their mothers to come sit with them and their lords, it seemed. Selena was trying not to look at Cordelia, who just looked pleased to be there. Subaki was also making a few not-so-subtle glances at Cordelia; not surprising, given that she looked so much like his daughter Caeldori. Odin was chatting excitedly with Lissa, with Leo looking both exasperated and satisfied.

She was almost ready; just one final touch to make the performance shine. She reached up and pulled down her hood, tossing her braid behind her. She could hear the loud gasps of surprise. Perfect. The music started, and the brief rush of anxiety she felt faded away to nothing. She tapped her toes to the beat, waiting for her moment to start. 3, 2, 1!

_I've been cheated by you since I don't know when_   
_So I made up my mind, it must come to an end._   
_Look at me now, will I ever learn?_   
_I don't know how, but I suddenly lose control_   
_There's a fire within my soul_

_Just one look and I can hear a bell ring_   
_One more look and I forget everything_

_Oh, oh_   
_Mamma Mia, here I go again_   
_My, my, how can I resist you?_   
_Mamma Mia, does it show again_   
_My, my, just how much I've missed you?_

_Yes, I've been broken-hearted_   
_Blue since the day we parted_   
_Why, why did I ever let you go?_   
_Mamma mia, now I really know_   
_My, my, I could never let you go_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went through a lot of songs in my mind, trying to figure out one that I could use. In the end, I went with Mamma Mia by ABBA.  
> And yes, I'm like this. For some reason, when I sing in front of a crowd, I just stop feeling nervous.


	20. Twisted Family Tree

Things had been going well for a while. Zacharias had stopped by to tip them off about a rite that they could use to harness the power of Sacred Seals. That would certainly come in handy for later. There had been a small invasion in the World of Holy Wars, but as a result, Kiran was able to summon more Heroes. Seliph and Julia had been reunited with their beloved parents, and their happiness had brightened up everything.

In retrospect, she should have expected this to happen.

Grand Hero Battles were almost always divisive, but not usually for the newer recruits. Usually, people had time to settle in and have the possibility that an enemy might be captured and have to fight with them explained to them. Not so this time. Kiran was ready for something bad to happen, but she hadn't anticipated that it would be that severe. Fortunately, Arvis and Sigurd happened to cross paths outside, so the resulting fight didn't break the castle.

When Kiran got to the scene, most of the grass of the courtyard had been torched. Sigurd's furious glare was locked onto Arvis. He had his sword drawn, and was gingerly holding his left arm to his side. In contrast, Arvis looked more like he was about to squish a troublesome bug. His left leg looked injured, but he was already preparing to cast another one of his fire spells. Off to the side, Deirdre was shivering in terror, glancing between both of them. Seliph and Julia put themselves between their mother and the fight, with Seliph already pointing his sword at Arvis.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Kiran groaned, approaching the fight. "I just got finished explaining the rule about no infighting!" Seliph, at the very least, lowered his sword with a guilty look on his face.

"That was before I knew you were bringing this... this traitor here!" Sigurd snapped, making her flinch. Men raising their voices always frightened her. She understood why he was upset, but they needed to think of the bigger picture here. Then again, Sigurd always had a bit of a problem with that...

" _You_ call _me_ a traitor?" Arvis scoffed.

"You know damn well my father and I were innocent! You had me and my men put to death for a lie, you dastard!"

"It was necessary to bring about peace. Ideals never become reality without sacrifice. To build a just world, you had to die."

Kiran snapped. She knew that telling people how their futures played out wasn't a good idea. After all, Alfonse told her that they wouldn't be able to change anything even if they knew. But at this point, she saw red. She stormed in between the two, Dancing Queen's fiery ruby gaze fixed on Arvis and Arrival hissing with fury. "You absolute moron!" she shouted, a fit of rage bursting forward. "You're seriously trying to justify what you did as _necessary_?! I'm keeping you around because it would be worse fighting you. But I swear, if you don't shut up about how the unjust deaths of an entire army's worth of innocent people was _necessary_ , I'll wring your neck myself!"

"How could you hope to understand?" he retorted, angered that she would dare to spit on his efforts.

"Oh, I understand plenty! I understand that _you failed_!" she spat. "Manfroy used and manipulated you for his own ends. You only managed to get what you wanted for a fleeting ten years; practically a blink in history's eyes. Then everything you had, everything you worked so hard to achieve, crumbled beneath your feet, and you could only watch! Your empire, twisted into an oppressive regime that kidnapped and sacrificed children! And because you took over the whole continent, no one escaped the cruelty! Your half-brother, missing! Your wife, murdered by your own son! Your son, possessed by an evil dragon god! Your daughter, kidnapped, mind-controlled, and traumatized! And in the end, you died in disgrace, throwing yourself at Seliph fully intending for him to kill you!"

"Do you understand what I'm telling you? Do you understand what I'm getting at?" She snapped her fingers, bent her left ankle, and pointed angrily at him. "I'll put this as simply as I can; history remembers you as a monster and Sigurd as a tragic hero. Even if Manfroy hadn't taken over and wrecked everything, who's to say that someone wouldn't have exposed what you did at Belhalla as the meaningless slaughter that it was? You had good intentions, I'll at least give you that much. But in the end, you failed. You lost everything, and Jugdral was left in an even worse condition than before. Everyone you killed in the name of your precious ideals died for nothing. Nice job breaking it, _hero_."

"Now, you two head to the infirmary to get your wounds looked at. After that, you're both on probation for one week. Don't speak to each other if you're just going to fight. Seliph, Julia, look after Deirdre. Those two idiots upset her. If I hear even a peep about you two fighting again, I'll make you both regret it. Don't think I can't," she threatened.

Dancing Queen's eyes flashed as Kiran stormed off, conjuring a vision of eerie green flames for the two to cover her exit. "She seems to be getting more comfortable with using her Stand's power in front of us," Seliph noted. "That could be either a good thing or a bad thing."

"I've never seen Lady Kiran that furious before..." Julia mumbled nervously.

"Me neither," he agreed. "She's usually so quiet; kind of like Tine."

"But Tine got angry like that when she got to fight King Bloom, right? And you mentioned that she did the same thing with her aunt Hilda," she pointed out.

"Right. I guess getting someone like that angry is a bad idea," he mused.

Sigurd and Arvis glared at each other one last time before limping off to the infirmary without a word. Deirdre finally collapsed to her knees and wept, leaving her children to take care of her.

\--------------------------------------------

Kiran took off to the depths of the library after that. The aura of sheer rage that she was giving off scared almost everyone away from her. Some were worried, and some were curious as to what could make her that angry. Sigurd, being the honest nice guy that he was, would gladly tell people what had happened when asked. He, at least, seemed apologetic about what had happened. Arvis, meanwhile, had seemingly gone into hiding. He was spotted around the castle on a few occasions, but he never made an effort to speak to anyone.

It took a few days for her to calm down and come out of hiding. The first people to approach her, surprisingly, were Arden and Ayra. "Are you alright?" Ayra asked. "Sir Sigurd told us about what happened."

"Did he now?" she replied.

"Yeah, he said he and Arvis got into a fight, and you got between them and snapped at them both for it. He's really sorry about that, by the way," Arden explained.

"He can tell me that himself," she shrugged. "And Deirdre's the one who really needs the apology. That fight really upset her."

"He's been apologizing to Lady Deirdre almost non-stop," Arden agreed. "She forgave him long ago, but that's just how Lord Sigurd is."

"So... how's the situation with Arvis?" Ayra asked.

Kiran's lips curled. "I haven't seen him since the fight. I'm pretty sure he's avoiding me, and I'm fine with that for now. But if he wants to talk... I'd be willing to speak with him," she sighed. "I might have gone a little overboard yelling at him. It happens more often than you'd think. And the whole situation wasn't _entirely_ his fault. I know he's not necessarily a bad person; he just did some really bad things. It's just... when I lose my temper, I stop thinking rationally for a while. I just want to make whoever caused it hurt."

"Well, if you're sure. If he tries anything, just shout. I'll come running to protect you!" Arden swore. For the first time in days, Kiran smiled.

"Thanks; you're so sweet," she told him. "I just might take you up on that." She turned to leave, but Ayra gently grabbed her hand.

"Summoner, I'd like to speak with you in private if I can," she said. Arden gave her a bit of an odd look, but silently agreed to leave them to it. Whatever she had to say, it was probably really important to her, and he didn't want to interrupt that. Kiran, also realizing this, led Ayra off to her private room, the one place where they would absolutely be guaranteed privacy.

"Okay, spill it. What's up?" she asked. Ayra blinked in confusion, so she sighed and rephrased it. "What did you want to talk about?"

"You... know of the future, correct?" she asked.

Kiran's gaze hardened under the hood. "Yes, but the only reason I told Arvis his is because I was angry at him and my lips loosened. I won't tell you yours without a good reason," she said firmly.

"I don't care about mine," she denied, surprising Kiran. "I know that I am to die fighting alongside Sir Sigurd, blade in hand, at Belhalla."

"Does... anyone else-"

"It seems to just be me, Arvis, and Sir Sigurd. Arden and Tailtiu don't know anything about it, and Lady Deirdre's memories are so scattered, it's hard to tell what she remembers sometimes," she explained. "I would like to keep it that way, if possible."

"Absolutely." _Especially Tailtiu,_ she thought sadly. She thought about the cheerful girl she saw playing with the kids and chatting up everyone she met, even if they got annoyed with her. She couldn't reconcile that image with the broken and depressed young woman she became at the end of her life, being abused so horrifically by her asshole family. _She really doesn't need to know about that._

"I don't care about knowing my fate, but please... what of Isaach? What of Shannan?" she asked, oddly vulnerable.

Kiran hesitated for only a moment before speaking up. "Well, if it'll set your mind at ease... After the war, King Shannan took the throne and devoted himself to the reconstruction of Isaach. In time, it became bigger and more powerful than it had ever been before, and his people loved him for it," she explained.

"I see," she said, faintly smiling. "He had to grow up so quickly. I'm not ashamed to admit I worried for him. But to hear that things turned out so well... I just feel relieved."

"Well then, I'm glad I could help," Kiran said.

"There is only one more thing I must tell you," she started, more sternly and serious than before. "If you manage to summon Manfroy, and you stop me from slicing him to pieces... I swear I'll remove your head from your shoulders."

"You won't be able to. Because if I stop you... it'll be because I'm already stabbing him and I don't want to get caught in the crossfire or kill him too quickly," she retorted, the snake hissing at her side.

\--------------------------------------------

"You know, it's rude to skulk," Kiran scolded, closing her book. She'd come back to the library for a little more light reading, and hadn't honestly been expecting company. Arvis approached her calmly, as inscrutable as ever. "Look, I know I was way too harsh before, and I'm sorry. It's not your fault you got manipulated. You're not nearly as bad of a person as I made you out to be."

"No need. I respect that you were honest with me," he told her. "So, in the end, everything I did amounted to nothing?"

"Well, I wouldn't say 'nothing'. Seliph stepped up to rule the empire after the war, and he did the same thing you did, only better. You had a good idea; you just weren't able to carry it out properly due to outside influences," she explained. "See, a person can't get by on ideals alone. They need allies who share their goal, so that they can all support each other and carry the burden together. Seliph figured that out ages ago, and constantly kept his allies close; that's why he was able to succeed where you failed. If you had someone to help you when Manfroy started getting involved, things could have turned out far better. Sigurd certainly would have been willing to work with you to make the world a better place. If you two really talked, I think you could actually get along."

"There's no point in musing about what could have been. What's done is done, and no one can change that," he said. "And I thought you said we weren't to speak to each other."

" _If you were going to fight._ I made sure to specify that part," she laughed dryly. "Are you really not upset with me?"

"I'm not upset. But I am grateful that you told me of Seliph's success. My ideals weren't wrong; I can be satisfied with that," he answered.

\--------------------------------------------

"Hey, Kiran! Want to join in?"

Said summoner blinked, trying to figure out what she was looking at. The harvest festival was ongoing, so everyone was getting together to celebrate with tricks and treats. A few of them seemed to have split off from the rest, sitting away from the bright lights of the festival grounds lit only by a single dim lamp. "What's going on?" she asked, curious.

"Azura's been telling ghost stories!" Cherche told her. Kiran looked around at who had decided to stick around. Draug and Gordin were sitting together, both looking a little nervous. Jeorge was sitting a little further back, still looking interested, while Olivia was eagerly chatting with Azura about scary stories she'd heard in her travels. The Whitewings were all present, with Est sandwiched in between her big sisters. Jaffar, Nino, and Raigh were all bunched up together, with Raigh scowling as Nino hugged him a little too tightly. Henry, Nowi, and Cherche were practically bouncing in their spots, with Sakura looking much less excited while clinging to Jakob. And, much to her surprise, Julia was half-curled up in her father's lap.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here, Julia," Kiran admitted.

"Well... I thought that if I listened to some scary stories, I might be able to become a little braver," she admitted.

"I mean, it can work if you get the right kind of scares," Kiran admitted. "If you get the wrong ones, you end up like me; having to sleep with a light on for a solid week."

"That means you know some ghost stories too, right Kiran?" Nino asked curiously.

"Well, yes, I know a few, but-"

"Tell us! Tell us!" The chant started up almost immediately. Apparently, people were really curious to hear her world's ghost stories. Kiran shook her head and sighed, smiling under her hood.

"Okay, okay! I'm not exactly good at telling them, but okay. One ghost story," she decided. She slipped in next to Palla and drew closer to the lamp, drawing out Dancing Queen so that her white body would add to the effect of the light. "Very well. I've got just the tale. See, with most ghost stories, you can't really confirm if they happened or not. But this one... this one is 100% true! So, I'll tell you the story of the Ghost Girl in the Alley." The crowd hushed immediately, eager to hear what she had to say.

"It all began thirty-three years ago," she started, using her best spooky voice. "On a night just like this one, a young girl was peacefully sleeping in her bedroom. She awoke to a strange sound coming from her parents' room. Drip, drip, drip. 'What's that strange sound? Papa! Mama!' she called. But there was no answer. She wasn't scared, though, because her big, strong guard dog was under her bed, keeping watch. Whenever she got nervous, she'd lower her hand, and he'd lick her with a little 'whimper, whimper'. She felt safe with him at her side."

"But the dripping sound continued. Finally, she got up and went to see what was causing it. She got out of the bed, crept across the room, opened the door... and saw her beloved dog hanging dead from the coat rack, his throat slashed open! The dripping was the sound of his blood!"

"Th-Then... who was licking her hand...?" Est stammered.

"Suddenly, she heard a voice from under her bed. 'Whimper, whimper, you have such beautiful hands, young lady,' he said. 'I've already killed your parents!' She tried to flee, but it was too late! The last thing she remembered was the knife being plunged into her back!"

"Kyaaa!" Sakura shrieked, squeezing Jakob's arm to the point of pain. He winced, but made no effort to pull the frightened princess off.

"The ghost girl couldn't allow herself to pass on; not when her killer had gotten away. So she and her loyal dog remained between the worlds of the living and the dead for fifteen years, waiting for their chance. No one knows when exactly her abandoned house became part of the Ghost Alley, but that's what eventually happened. The Ghost Alley is a point between the worlds, and it seems only the deceased or Stand users are able to enter it. Try to run, you end up right back where you started. Try to fly, and the sky becomes the ground. You absolutely cannot leave unless a spirit shows you the way out. And when you do follow the path to leave, _something_ starts to follow you, drooling over your shoulder and breathing down your neck, hoping to catch you before you reach the exit."

"When her killer was finally caught and killed, she was right there waiting for him. At first, he didn't recognize her. It had been so long that he had completely forgotten about her. But no one can hold a grudge quite like an angry ghost. She showed him the scar on her back that he left behind and stepped past the postbox, luring him in closer. One thing to remember about supernatural beings in general; when they tell you not to do something, there are usually horrible consequences for not listening. The one rule of the Ghost Alley is, 'when you pass by the postbox, don't turn around'. At this point, the final part of her trap was sprung! Her dog sunk his teeth into the killer's arm, tearing it off and knocking him to the ground facing backwards!"

"Wh-What happened to him?" Nino asked, squeezing Raigh a little tighter.

"What happens to anyone who breaks the rule: the monsters hiding in the alley came. Hidden in the shadows, all he could see was a mass of hands reaching out for him. They grabbed him and dragged him off into the darkness, ripping his soul to shreds as he screamed in terror and pain!" she cackled, setting off another round of screams. She smiled a little seeing Julia clutching Arvis like a teddy bear, and him holding her right back to comfort her. Kiran had to hand it to him; he was good at being a dad. "Even now that the girl has passed on, satisfied from her vengeance, the Ghost Alley remains. Seems rooting her spirit there for so long left a few... side effects. The stories of the Ghost Alley have spread all around the town, even to the people who can't enter it. And everyone knows... if you find yourself in this hidden alley, cut off from the rest of the world, you must never, _ever_ turn around."

Suddenly, Kiran shrieked, making everyone jump. "Okay, who tickled Dancing Queen?! You know I can feel that, right?!" she squeaked. Tailtiu, giggling, poked out from behind her.

"You were really scared, weren't you?" she laughed.

"There's scared, and there's surprised!" Kiran retorted.

"And you were both!"

Kiran couldn't help it; she started laughing. "Okay, that was pretty good," she admitted. Tailtiu was grinning from ear to ear. "Well, I think I've done enough story telling for one night. I'm going to go grab some candy! See you guys later!"

"Just one question before you go," Jeorge spoke up, getting the summoner's attention. "You said that the story was true before you told it... how could you possibly know?"

She smirked, slowly retreating into the shadows. "Because the one who first told this story... _was the ghost herself_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not particularly proud of this one...
> 
> Getting into Kiran's headspace here for a bit. She knows Arvis isn't really what you'd call a villain. But when talking to him in Heroes, he will occasionally try to justify Sigurd's death as 'necessary'. She didn't like that, so she blew up at him. She went out of her way to make him hurt. She felt bad about it afterwards. After all, most of it was the fault of either Manfroy (may he choke on a bag of dicks) or Loptous/Julius. But she was too uncomfortable and guilty to go to him and apologize, so she waited for him to make the first move.
> 
> Revealing someone's secrets and telling them their futures are two completely different things for Kiran. Secrets will stay hidden unless the person they're about brings them up, or if the secret is getting in the way of their lives. Futures are only told if the person asking has a close connection to it and appeals to her emotions in some way, whether positive or negative. Arvis got negative appeal; Kiran wanted to hurt him. Ayra got positive appeal; Kiran wanted to give her closure. Arvis later got positive appeal; she felt bad about what she said earlier and wanted to apologize properly.


	21. Those Who Favor Fire

_"Kiran... Kiran..."_

_The young summoner looked around, trying to remember what was going on. She'd finished up with the invasion at Vaskrheim, tried another round of summoning, turned in for the night early because dealing with Lute was exhausting, then... nothing. "Good evening. I must apologize for this intrusion..." the voice continued. "I'm using a special rite to speak with you while you slumber."_

_"So... this is a dream? I'm asleep right now?" There was one test she could do to make sure that was true... She tried, but she wasn't able to call Dancing Queen to her side. Recent studies had shown that there was a subconscious barrier between sleep and wakefulness, and that would keep your Stand from appearing in your dreams unless you brought it out before you went to sleep._

_"Indeed. Thanks to Embla and Múspell, you've been drawn into the chaos of war... I want to do whatever I can, no matter how small, to help you."_

_"Hang on... Múspell? What are you talking about?" she asked._

_"I can't tell you that much yet." Of course she couldn't. Dream voices could never be straight up about anything, it seemed. "But how rude of me... I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Gunnthrá, eldest princess of Nifl, the Kingdom of Ice. Do you know my younger sister, Fjorm?"_

_"Why would I know her when I just learned of your kingdom today? Uh, your highness?" she added nervously, afraid that she'd been too rude._

_"No need to worry about it. I'm not surprised. She has a gentle soul, but she... Well... She has an unfortunate tendency to agonize over things. But I must apologize once again. My sister is not the reason I wished to speak with you this evening. No, I have some useful information for you."_

_"Took a while to get back on track, huh," Kiran mumbled. "Well, lay it on me."_

_"Excuse me?"_

_"Sorry, might've been too casual there. Please, tell me," she corrected._

_"In the west of Askr, there is a shrine for the Rite of Awakening. And further west of that..."_

\--------------------------------------------

Kiran couldn't get the day's events out of her head. She'd followed the directions she'd gotten from the dream, and found the shrine exactly where Gunnthrá said it would be. But the words engraved on the stone were still troubling her, particularly the part about 'flames licking the land'. If that didn't sound ominous, nothing would.

The attack on Gnótthæð from Embla only made her more agitated. Their messenger had been badly burned, only able to speak of 'the flames'. When they got there, the whole place had been torched, with flames that refused to go out. And now Alfonse was talking about a prophecy about the end of the world that he'd read in some old book in the library. "Cloaked in flame, he crosses the sea - unquenchable, insatiable, undying flame. Trees fall, mountains burn, steam billows. The seas are swallowed. Stars become cinders, and the moon falls from the sky. The world, devoured by flame, smolders out." Well... this certainly could not mean anything good.

"Smolders... out? You can't mean that it's destroyed, can you?" Sharena asked.

"We need to find out more about who we're really up against," Anna said grimly. "We have to keep pushing forward. I wish I knew just what we're facing."

"Well, that voice I heard in my dream mentioned some place called Múspell. Maybe it's them," Kiran told her. "We need to catch one of the enemy leaders and interrogate them."

\--------------------------------------------

"You! Tell me your name and your affiliation- Wait a minute! Who do you think you are?" Anna snapped, shocked.

"Two... Commander Annas?" Sharena asked, confused. Multiple Annas was one thing; Kiran knew for a fact that there were many Annas out there among the worlds. But an Anna wearing the exact same gear as theirs was setting off all of the alarms in her brain. Dancing Queen was up in front, ready for the fight. Arrival took her usual post up in the sky, watching closely.

"This must be so very shocking for you, mustn't it? You have my apologies, my dear," the other Anna teased. Quicker than anyone could blink, she transformed into Sharena. A shapeshifter, then... how troublesome. "I suppose it's true that we've never met in person..." She changed again, this time into a form no one recognized. The first thought to pop into Kiran's mind was 'imminent wardrobe malfunction'. Her dress looked like it could barely contain her breasts; that had to be extremely uncomfortable. "I am Loki, servant of His Royal Highness, King Surtr. Pleased to make your acquaintance. I'm even more pleased to bid you farewell... Though I must apologize, I suppose. You'll be dying here."

"King Surtr... Are you with Múspell?" Kiran questioned, taking a quick guess.

"Oh, my, I wonder where you heard that name from?" Loki mused. "But, yes. I'm impressed you already knew about us. Unfortunately, it won't save you here."

"One wyvern rider, one blue tome user, one swordsman, and her," Kiran reported. "But be on your guard, everyone. I of all people know how dangerous illusions can be."

\--------------------------------------------

Maneuvering around the battlefield turned out to the be tricky part. The same flames they had seen before covered this battlefield as well, cutting off their paths. Kiran pulled her cloak in close, hoping it didn't catch on any of the flames. The idea of being set on fire was not something she was looking forward to. Once they finally got to the enemies, it was pretty simple to deal with them. Takumi shot the wyvern rider out of the sky, Hector chucked his faithful axe into the mage's face (how did he have such excellent aim?), and Lukas shrugged off a hit from the swordsman before taking him down. All that was left was Loki, but where had she gone?

"Keep your eyes open, everyone!" Kiran warned, scouting around. "Who had eyes on her last?"

"Wh-What the-?" Kiran looked towards the cry of shock and saw exactly what she didn't want to see. There were two Mias facing off, blades drawn.

"Boss, Loki's impersonating me!" one of them yelled.

"What? No! I'm the real Mia! You impostor!" the other shouted.

Kiran pressed her palm to her face. "I knew this would happen. Of course, there's an easy way to solve this." Loki obviously thought that trick would be enough to throw them off, but she didn't know about Kiran's secret weapon. Arrival came down from her perch, circling close to the two. One of the Mias looked right at her, while the other didn't move a muscle in response. "Punch the fake!" she ordered. Dancing Queen drew back her fist and drove it into the fake's cheek, throwing her across the burning ground. Mia followed up with a quick slice, still pretty annoyed that someone dared to try and impersonate her. To her credit, Loki barely looked ruffled as she picked herself back up.

"Good thinking, Kiran!" Anna praised. "We've pushed through the enemy's line! Our job now is to capture their leader."

"Oh, wouldn't you just know it. I lost." For someone who lost, Loki certainly didn't look all that upset. "How strong you all are... Especially you, Summoner. I've taken a little bit of a fancy to you. Yes, you, Kiran..."

"I need an adult," she whimpered, ducking behind Alfonse.

"Oh, you are so cute! So strong, and yet so easy to tease! Here's hoping we meet again, my dear!" she giggled. She quickly brought up her staff and conjured a bright flash of light, vanishing before they had a chance to get close. Why and how did they always manage to get away?! Seriously!

"Hold it right there! I'm not finished with you yet. I want some answers!" Anna yelled after her. She was quickly interrupted by a tug on her sleeve. "Hmm, Kiran? What is it?"

"Breidablik... It's glowing for some reason," she answered, holding the lit weapon gingerly. A shot of bright light burst from down the barrel, pointing off to the north. "I'm getting the feeling that this light show is significant. We'd better follow that and see where it goes," she ordered.

\--------------------------------------------

The further they marched away from the flames, the colder it got. Patches of snow started to appear on the ground. There was probably a lot more of it before that guy Surtr showed up and torched everything. How sad... Kiran may not have liked snow all that much, but it was still a huge part of her life growing up. She hadn't gotten to go out and play in the snow for... she honestly couldn't remember how long. Once they had a break from all of this fighting, she'd go out and build the biggest snowman she could. Inviting a few Heroes for a snow day certainly sounded like fun.

"So how did you manage to expose the fake, Kiran?" Sharena asked, interrupting her mental tangent. "Did you use your Stand?"

"Yes. I took advantage of the fact that summoned Heroes can see her. Mia's still not used to Dancing Queen's presence since she's new, so she immediately took notice of Arrival. When the other Mia didn't react, I knew she had to be a fake," she explained. "But this is still a problem. She can easily pass as one of us, and since you guys can't see my Stand, that trick won't work to expose her. We need a way to do so if she tries it again."

"Do you have any ideas?" Alfonse asked.

"Yeah, I know a few tricks to expose impostors. But most of them will only be good for one attempt. If we try using the same trick twice, she'll be ready to counter it," she warned. "The simplest and safest one is a password. Only we four will need to know it, since the Heroes can't be impersonated. If she tries to impersonate someone, ask for the password. After she's exposed, we'll need to change the password so that she can't try it again. As for the initial password... let's go with 'Stand Proud'."

"Got it. So, if we're not sure one of us is who they say they are, we ask for the password. If they answer Stand Proud, we're safe," Anna reviewed.

"Yes, but we'll have to do it covertly. She might listen in on our conversations," Kiran warned. "Better safe than sorry. Hm? Well, we're definitely on the right track here. There are footprints going in the same direction Breidablik is aiming. One set. They're pretty sloppy; whoever left them was either not used to travelling through snow or badly hurt."

\--------------------------------------------

_How long have I been here?_

_How did I even get here? I can't remember..._

_It's cold..._

_Hmm...? Who's that?_

_She just collapsed... Is she hurt?_

_Those injuries..._

_Someone had to have done this to her..._

\--------------------------------------------

By the time the light began to dim down, the snow was up past their ankles. The person who left the footprints had clearly been stumbling, and Kiran saw a few small patches of red snow. Wounded, then. Everyone was bogged down and miserable except for Kiran. "I don't really get what the problem is here. It's just a little snow. It's not even windy!" she scoffed. "As long as it doesn't get into my boots, I'm totally fine."

"You grew up somewhere with a lot of snow, so you're used to it. The rest of us aren't," Lukas explained.

"Oh. I guess that makes sense," she shrugged. "Sorry if I sound a little agitated. I just want to hurry and find what Breidablik was aiming for and get out of here. I'd rather not run into Loki again."

"Kiran," Alfonse started, looking worried. "Don't you think you might be a little paranoid?"

"You can never be too paranoid when you can't trust your eyes," she warned. "Besides, if that name means what I think it means... We're in for plenty more trouble from her."

"What do you mean?" Sharena asked.

"There were legends told back in my world, long, long ago. Different places around the world had different legends and different gods. And one god that stuck out in my mind was called Loki. He was a trickster, whose pranks ranged from mildly annoying to downright murderous. He was a shapeshifter, who could appear as anyone and anything. And the most important thing to remember about trickster gods; they're chaotic. Thus, their actions cannot be predicted. So if her name is true to her character, we need to be ready for anything," she explained.

\--------------------------------------------

Upon cresting another snowbank, Kiran tensed. Breidablik's glow had faded the closer they got, but she could see something else glowing among the snow. The footprints led right to it, and the patches of red had gotten bigger. So this was what they were looking for! She immediately sent Arrival closer to get a better look. "Oh, crap!" she yelped. "There's a girl passed out in the snow! And she's got a glowing lance with her! The glow seems to match Breidablik's!"

"It seems her lance is resonating with the Divine Weapon," Alfonse noted.

"Is she okay?" Sharena asked, worried.

"I can't really tell from here. She's still breathing, at least. I need to get closer..."

No one knew what happened next. One moment, Arrival was moving closer to the girl. The next, Kiran was on the ground, a hole torn open in her left side.

The snake doubled back and fled to Kiran's side, where she was able to get a better look at the injury. Everyone was rushing around in a panic, trying to figure out how they were going to close the wound without a healer, and where the attack had come from. All the while, Kiran's mind was racing. How had that happened? She hadn't been attacked; it was Arrival who'd been hurt! But Stands could only be hurt by other Stands! So why and how was her Stand injured? Wait, now that she was getting a closer look... Was that a zipper in Arrival's side? It couldn't be...!

Slowly, Kiran pushed herself to her feet, ignoring the weird, wobbly sensation from her side being wide open. "Hey, Kiran, don't get up!" Hector warned. "The Commander's calling for a healer. Just stay down and you'll be okay."

"I'm fine. See? I'm not bleeding and it doesn't even hurt," she assured, sticking her hand in the hole and making everyone wince. "It's just throwing me off balance. Could you grab my arm and hold me up for a bit so I don't put any weight on that side? Thanks. If my suspicions are correct, I just need to get Arrival a meter or so away from here, and it'll close right up."

"Are you certain?" Lukas asked, worried.

"Absolutely. This is no ordinary wound. My Stand was attacked, and the wound appeared on my body as a result," she told them. "But since Stands can only be hurt by other Stands..."

"You're saying a Stand attacked you?" Alfonse finished. Everyone immediately drew their weapons, looking for whoever else was out there. Stands couldn't be harmed by their weapons, but they could certainly hurt the user if they could catch them off guard.

Kiran nodded as the wound closed up, leaving no sign that she had ever been hurt. "Arrival wasn't seriously hurt, though. That tells me that the attack was more of a warning shot than something actually meant to kill. If I were to guess, someone didn't want me getting near her, and attacked to warn me off. Isn't that right?" she suddenly shouted, hoping to get the attention of whoever was out there.

"That's right," the attacker answered. He was still hidden where she couldn't see; probably behind one of the snowbanks. She tensed; she was at a serious disadvantage here. He knew exactly where she was, but she couldn't see any trace of him. There were quite a few snowbanks for him to hide behind, so finding him would be like playing thimblerig. She wouldn't be able to send Arrival out to scout because he'd spot her and attack. Sure, her white body could blend in with the snow, but her bright red eyes would give her away. And she'd need to make direct eye contact to hide herself from him. But how could she do that when she couldn't even see him?

"Look, we don't want any trouble!" she told him. "We're just trying to help her!"

"Am I really supposed to believe that? I found her limping through the snow, obviously wounded and fleeing from someone. I stepped back for a moment to lure her pursuers in, and you conveniently showed up. You even had the nerve to send in your Stand instead of getting close yourself. I can't exactly check if you're lying when it's this cold, but if you don't show me some proof that you're not the ones who hurt her, I'm not letting you near her," he accused.

"This is bad," Kiran fussed. "I don't know where he is. The source of his voice keeps changing location... Is he travelling through the ground to move between hiding places? I don't know how long the girl's been out here like this either. We need to treat her wounds and soon, but we have to get past him first. And we can't exactly prove that we didn't attack her..."

"Seriously, what are the odds of running into another Stand user in this world?!" Takumi complained.

"Pretty high considering the Law of Gravity; Stand users attract other Stand users. If two Stand users are in the same general vicinity, they will definitely encounter each other. Such is fate," she explained. "Not sure how he got here in the first place, but when he did, it was fate that we'd run into each other."

"Boss, can you beat him?" Mia asked.

"If he's who I think he is, definitely not," she answered firmly. "Not in a straight-up fight. He's too strong and too experienced. But in a battle of attrition... If I can use the environment to my advantage, I might have a chance, however small it may be. The winner in a fight between Stand users isn't the strongest; it's the one who can make the best use of their abilities in the environment that they're given. You guys double back. I know you want to help, but in a fight against a Stand user, you really can't do much if he decides to attack you. Fall back and wait for the healer. I'll scream if I need help."

They hesitated for a bit, but then Alfonse nodded solemnly. "Alright, we'll go. But please, Kiran, be careful," he warned.

Nodding, she moved in closer, Arrival curled around her shoulders. She kept Dancing Queen hidden; better to maintain that ace up her sleeve. "I really don't want to have to do this, but you're leaving me no choice."

"Suit yourself. Don't regret this later," the attacker shot back. She looked around, trying to spot where his voice had come from. That was the only clue she had. Gingerly, she took another step forward, Arrival searching in all directions. A patch of snow was disturbed somewhere off to the right, so she quickly jumped away from it. A large blue fist, attached to the rest of the Stand by a zipper, barely missed her face, striking the ground hard. It immediately zipped open a hole before it was pulled back by the user. No doubt about it now...

"So it is you..." she mused. "I don't know how that's possible, but it's you. That Stand... It's 'Sticky Fingers'. The ability to create zippers on any solid surface, connecting or separating two points and creating open spaces where there were none before. An extremely versatile and useful ability."

"Who are you? How the hell do you know my Stand's name?!" he demanded.

"My name is Kiran. My Stand is Arrival," she answered firmly. "And _you_ are Bruno Bucciarati of Passione. As for how I know... Honestly, I'd be more inclined to tell you if you stopped attacking me. Besides, you're suspicious of me enough as it is. I highly doubt you'd believe me even if I tried to tell you."

"...You're far more dangerous than you look, brat," he mused.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Now that I have confirmation that I'm right, I know for a fact that fighting you expecting to win is a foolish endeavor. However!" She shifted her right foot back as Arrival wrapped around her left arm, its face close to her lips. "This does not necessarily mean that I've lost! It just means I have to play it a little safer than I'm used to! Now, then... Show me what someone who's mastered their Stand is capable of!"

_To Be Continued..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *insert Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons here*
> 
> Plot Twist! You didn't think I meant Prince Bruno in the sneak peak at the end of Book 1, did you? I love taking advantage of moments where two people have the same name...
> 
> In all seriousness, Bucciarati is my favorite JoBro. What's not to love about the guy? As for how he's there... I'll let you guys figure it out. Can Kiran survive her first real Stand battle?
> 
> I also threw in a headcanon of mine. In the second chapter of Book 2, Sharena mentioned that they found Fjorm in the snow. However, the area where the party fought Loki was completely on fire. My headcanon is that while Loki was distracted, Fjorm tried to escape.
> 
> For those curious, thimblerig is that game street hustlers play where they hide something under a cup and shuffle them around. For the longest time, I didn't know that it had an actual name.


	22. Born of Ice

Bruno Bucciarati... If there was one Stand user who stuck out in Kiran's memory, it was him. She would read through the archives on the Speedwagon Foundation website whenever she got bored. Even if there was nothing new, she'd always go back and look at his profile. Then, she'd check the comments section. The comments section was meant for people who knew them personally to tell other people about them. Every day, there was something new added to it.

_"He always took such good care of us."_

_"He loved this city. I'm not surprised he died to protect it."_

_"He saved my life."_

_"I owe him more than anyone could imagine."_

_"Even now that he's gone, it's like he's still here, looking after us."_

_"I miss him so much."_

_"He was always such a sweet and polite young man."_

_"We all knew what he did behind the scenes, but no one ever talked about it."_

_"No one in Naples will ever forget what he did."_

_"The boss got the drugs off the street. It's what Mr. Bucciarati would have wanted."_

_"The boss will make sure that the memory of Bucciarati will never die."_

She'd been awestruck. How could one person have done so much for so many people? Over and over again, she read through the report on his personal involvement in the Passione Incident of 2001. Most of the details were still classified, since some of the people involved were still A&A, but she could still learn a lot from his actions during it. And every single time she finished up, she'd feel a sense of awe. She'd never even met him, but his deeds were clearly worthy of respect.

\--------------------------------------------

And now, she was meeting the guy who was essentially her childhood hero on the other side of a battlefield. Not exactly the best of circumstances. She couldn't blame him for being suspicious of her, but she had to find a way past him to help that girl. Sticky Fingers was a close-range power type Stand, while Arrival was a long-range operation type. Dancing Queen was a close-range power type, but it wasn't nearly strong enough to counter him in close quarters. To make matters worse, she couldn't tell where his range started. If she didn't know where he was hiding, she wouldn't be able to tell if she was getting too close. His range was a lot smaller than hers, but if she stumbled into it, she was in for a world of hurt.

With Arrival carefully watching her surroundings, she took a few steps out into the expanse of white. There was one thing she knew for sure; he was trying to protect the injured girl. If she got closer, it would provoke an attack. All she needed to do was wait and watch. She felt something hard beneath her foot and stopped, sliding slightly. A hidden icy patch... Perfect.

The snow shifted again, just to her right. "There you are!" She jumped back, sliding on the patch to get a little more distance. This also cleared off some of the snow. Kiran smirked; when snow was covering up icy patches, it added a little extra friction to make it harder to slip on them. But take that away... Bucciarati slipped on that same ice and lost his balance. Arrival lunged, but he opened a hole in the ground as soon as he hit it, disappearing underground and closing it behind him, the snake's fangs just barely missing his ankle. At least she bought herself a little more time. _Heh. Sure-footed as a mountain goat!_ she cheered internally. _Ice can't slip me up! Especially when I already know that it's there!_

She'd lost track of him again, but finding him wouldn't be too difficult. All she had to do was stay quiet and listen. It was near impossible to sneak up on someone when the ground was covered in snow. The crunching would easily give them away. Even if he managed to avoid that, zippers were equally noisy. All she had to do was listen for the sound of a zipper opening or the crunch of snow, and keep still so that she didn't make a crunch that would confuse her. She just needed to buy a little more time... The second she heard it, she jumped back in the opposite direction.

All of a sudden, the ground disappeared below her feet. Crap, the hole he'd opened up in the ground when he nearly punched her! He hadn't closed it! Had he purposefully closed the new hole behind him to trick her into thinking he'd closed them all? And made a sound from that direction specifically to make her dodge back and fall right into it? How careless of her... What a rookie mistake! She lost her balance and slipped into the darkness below, landing flat on her back and knocking the wind out of her. To her dismay, the zipper closed above her, cutting off her air supply and trapping her underground.

"How long can you hold your breath? Caught off guard like that, you wouldn't have had time to take a deep breath in. Less than a minute, most likely," he mused. His voice was muffled; it sounded like he came out of hiding and was waiting directly above her. "Surrender and I might just let you out!"

He was quickly interrupted by a loud impact against the underside of the ground. With one more strike, Dancing Queen's fist broke a small opening through the ground, the debris barely missing his cheek. "You want me... to surrender?" she coughed, quickly taking advantage of her new air supply. "Not when... I haven't lost yet! Dancing Queen!"

"ABABABABABABABABABA!" Within moments, she'd broken open a hole big enough for Kiran to slip out. He'd finally shown himself, thinking he'd managed to get the drop on her. He looked like he hadn't aged a day since the picture on his profile was taken. The same white and black suit with zippers on the shoulders and arms, the same lace top visible through the open part that exposed his chest, the same short, braided black hair, and the same stern blue eyes. And just as she'd expected, his fingertips were already turning a deep red.

"Two Stands?!" he yelled, shocked.

"One Stand, two bodies. My ace in the hole!" she corrected. "And considering how long we've been fighting and how much running around we've been doing... I think it's about time."

"What are you-" Dancing Queen lashed out with her right arm, aiming to grab his hand. He immediately countered by grabbing it with Sticky Fingers and striking her wrist with the other fist, zipping her Stand's arm clean off at the elbow. Pushing back the shock of seeing her arm come off with it, she activated her ability and made herself vanish. This was not going to last long, not in these conditions. The ground was too noisy for her to move, and the steam clouds from her warm breath would quickly give her away. Trying to get her arm back on wasn't an option. She'd have to do this now and she'd have to do it quickly. As he stepped back and looked around, trying to find where she'd gone, she lunged the second his eyes were off of her, grabbing his hand hard with her remaining hand. He hissed in pain as the illusion broke.

"Your toes hurt too, don't they? That always happens first," she warned. "When you get cold like this, your body starts to cut off your blood flow to your extremities to keep your organs warm to keep you alive. Fingers and toes, being at the very end of the extremities, suffer first. That's why when you're out in the cold for too long, they start to hurt. That's also why when frostbite sets in, your fingers and toes die off first. From my personal experience, I always feel it in my toes long before my fingers. If your fingers are hurting this badly, I can't imagine how much pain your feet must be in."

"It's as I figured," she continued, keeping her Stand between the two of them. "You've been spoiled by your homeland's milder climate. You're not used to this much snow, are you? Naples rarely gets snow at all. Not to mention how much uncovered skin you have showing. I, on the other hand, was born during a blizzard! I've grown up hardened by -20 degree weather, and that's without taking the windchill into account! Spring was practically non-existent! Things would start to warm up, but then all of a sudden, more snow! We had to be prepared for all things cold and icy at all times! The cold is my cradle!" She shifted her left leg to the side and allowed Arrival to coil around her remaining arm, rearing like she was about to bite. Sticky Fingers took a swipe at her, but the smaller Stand let go and dodged easily. She may have been weaker, but she was clearly faster.

"Your Stand is stronger than mine; of that, I have no doubt. But that's not all you have to take into account in a fight. When it comes to the environment, I have the advantage here. If we keep going, you most likely will catch and kill me, but you're still going to succumb to the cold in the end. That won't help her either. Now then, are you going to listen and let us help, or are you going to let hypothermia sink in and kill the both of you?" she finished. "Let me tell you, freezing to death is not a fun way to go. Everyone who says it's just like falling asleep are lying assholes."

"...One question. If you answer my question truthfully, I'll reattach your arm," Bucciarati decided. "How exactly do you know about me? You knew my ability, my name, and my birthplace. How does someone I've never met know these things?"

"Heard of the Speedwagon Foundation? The big philanthropy organization? Turns out they also do paranormal research. They've been keeping tabs on Stand users around the world. Their records are kept confidential, only being declassified upon death or forced retirement. And as far as they're concerned, you've been dead for sixteen years," she answered. Without warning, he turned his wrist in her grip, grabbed her arm, pulled her close, and quickly licked her cheek, prompting a yelp.

"Finally got you sweating. This taste... is the taste of an honest person," he decided, letting her go. "Fine. I'll believe you."

He picked up her discarded arm and reattached it with a zipper. Kiran flexed her wrist, getting used to the sensation of having her arm back on. "Glad that's settled. Now, we need to get you two somewhere warm and we need to treat her wounds. Here, you can borrow my cloak for a little bit," she told him, slipping it off with a blush. "It'll be a little small on you, but it's better than nothing. I'll be fine like this for a few minutes, at least long enough for us to get somewhere warmer. There's pockets too, so you can stick your hands in there to warm them up a little since my gloves are definitely too small for you. The sooner we get out of here, the better. Now there's just the matter of how to carry her..."

"I can take care of that." He immediately called up Sticky Fingers and gently picked her up. Kiran noted that Breidablik and the girl's lance, still tightly clutched in her hand, stopped glowing as soon as they got close enough to each other. Curious... "Lead the way. But I also want answers about what's going on here."

"Oh, yes, of course. It all started... hmm, I think it's been almost a year now..."

\--------------------------------------------

"...And, um, that about sums up everything that's happened so far."

"I can tell that you're not lying, and it's still hard to believe we're in an entirely different world from our own," he admitted.

"Yeah, it takes some getting used to. Some things more than others; the food, medicine, the existence of magic, the wildlife... bathroom business..." she mumbled awkwardly. "How did you even get here? I know I got summoned through some ritual. Did the same thing happen with you?"

"I honestly don't know," he admitted. "The last thing I remember is dying. Everything after that is a blur. The next thing I knew, I was wandering out there in the snow. I can't even remember how long I was there before I found her."

"Interesting... Could there be some special connection between our world and this one? Maybe the reason you can't remember is because you died prior to showing up here, whereas I'm alive. That's another thing I'll have to look into later, I guess. Anyways, any questions?"

"People can see your Stand because they're contracted to you through that weapon, right?" he asked. "Could they see mine?"

"I don't think so. The contract connects them to me, and it'd be bad if I couldn't see my own Stand. But I don't know if they could see yours because of these special circumstances," she explained. "When you put that zipper on Arrival, I'm pretty sure they only saw the hole left behind. Well, even if I got them to stick around and help me out, it wouldn't have mattered. All I could do to attempt to win was take advantage of your lack of cold tolerance. Being Canadian has its advantages, I guess."

"Ah, no wonder. Your Italian is surprisingly good, though," he told her.

"What? I don't speak Italian," she told him, confused. "I know a few basic words because my last boss was Italian, but I'm far from fluent."

He looked equally confused. "Yes you do. You're doing it right now," he said.

"Hmm... Could it be another side affect of coming to this world? Preventing language barriers by making it so that you hear everyone speaking in the language you're most familiar with? Then is it possible that it's the same with written languages? What about figures of speech? I know those are difficult to translate... More research to do in my free time, I guess. Oh, great. Why did they have to call _her_ of all people?" Kiran sighed. She caught sight of the others right at the point where the snow started to get shallower, accompanied by the healer that they'd called for.

"Friends of yours?" he asked, looking over the group carefully.

"Most of them," she admitted. " _That one_ just gets on my nerves sometimes. She's shrill, delusional, narcissistic, bratty, she complains and whines all the time, yells at me for making her do work, and when she does fix people up, she expects them to throw themselves at her feet and praise her like a goddess. Seriously, why did it have to be _Serra?!_ I'd take literally anyone else! Couldn't they have gotten Mist? I like Mist. She's sweet. Am I talking too much? I'm talking too much. Sorry; I ramble when I get agitated, and she agitates me a lot, and-" Dancing Queen quickly smacked her in the head, shutting her up. "Thanks, Queen."

As soon as the group noticed their approach, they immediately drew their weapons, just to be safe. Kiran raised her hands to signal that everything was fine. "It's okay! We talked things out!" she assured.

"Is Dancing Queen there?" Alfonse asked, defensive. He got some nods from the Heroes who could see her, and immediately let down his guard on confirmation that it was safe.

"Now can we hurry up and get out of the cold? We need to get proper treatment, and we can't do that in this weather," she ordered.

\--------------------------------------------

The small squad awkwardly retraced their steps, still somewhat unsure of the new face in their ranks. After they finally reached a relatively safe and warm position and Serra fixed up the minor wounds and started healing the girl's wounds, Bucciarati passed Kiran's cloak back to her. She quickly pulled it on and yanked her hood over her head, visibly less nervous now that she was covered up again. And... was that a blush Sharena spied? "Kiran, aren't you going to introduce us to your new friend?" she asked, already looking eager to get to know him.

"Oh, right. This is Mr. Bucciarati. He's from my world. Mr. Bucciarati, these are Prince Alfonse and Princess Sharena of Askr, Anna, the Commander of the Order of Heroes and my boss, Hector, the marquess of Ostia, Lukas, a knight from the Deliverance of Zofia, Takumi, the second prince of Hoshido, Mia of the Greil Mercenaries, and Serra, a cleric in the service of House Ostia."

"Please, just Bucciarati. Being called mister by someone who's almost my age makes me feel old," he insisted.

"O-Okay, then. Uh, sorry, I just..." They got it; she was shy around strangers. Having to be exposed in front of a stranger for so long must have been torture. Bucciarati gave her an odd look, but said nothing. "Uh, Serra! How's she looking?"

"Don't rush me! You can't rush perfection, you know!" she snapped back. "That said, she's quite badly injured. We'll have to get her back to the castle for proper treatment, but we can't do that until I finish doing something about these burns. I'd better be getting a reward for all this extra work! Making me come out into the heat, only to suddenly jump into the cold! Do you have any idea how bad that is for my skin?!"

"Wait, hold up. Burns?" Kiran asked. "So it's possible she was attacked by the same invaders that attacked us. That said, that armor doesn't look Askran or Emblian. She's clearly not from around here."

"I wouldn't dismiss the possibility," Alfonse agreed. "We'll have to wait for her to recover before we can get some answers."

"So..." Mia started, trying to break the awkward tension. "Boss says you've got a Stand like her. That means you're pretty strong, right?"

If Kiran noticed that he flinched slightly at the word Boss, she said nothing. "I'd like to think so," he answered vaguely, still keeping his guard up.

"Good to hear! Hey, can I see it?" she asked. "I've only ever seen hers."

"Mia, you can't just ask someone you just met if they'll show you their Stand!" Kiran scolded, blushing. "It's very improper! Besides, I don't even know if the contact will allow Heroes to see Stands other than Dancing Queen!"

"Well, there's no better time to check than now, isn't there?" he pointed out. He brought out Sticky Fingers and had it strike a rock nearby, zipping it in half. "Did anyone see that besides her?" A chorus of 'no's immediately followed. "Well, that's that. They can't see Sticky Fingers."

"Aw," Mia groaned. "Well, I've still got Boss for a strong rival. I can be satisfied with that!"

"I'm not that strong, you know..." Kiran mumbled.

\--------------------------------------------

Finally, Serra decided that the girl was in stable enough condition to be moved back to the castle. Bucciarati picked her up himself this time, almost daring anyone to try and disagree with him. _I guess he wouldn't have survived in the mafia for so long if he wasn't at least a little paranoid,_ Kiran thought to herself. _But it's sweet that he's so protective of a girl he just met._ The two Stand users remained near the rear of the formation, Dancing Queen watching out for any attempts at following them.

All the while, Kiran kept her head down and stayed quiet. Now that everything had settled down, she was so nervous! She had so much that she wanted to ask, but how would she even know where to start? This guy was a living legend, and he was walking right next to her! Now she knew how Lucina felt being around Marth all day, or how Cordelia felt around Caeda and the Whitewings.

"Kiran, right?" She yelped, tugging her hood down.

"Y-Yes, sir?" she stammered.

"Don't call me sir. You've been nervous about something for a while now. What are you hiding?" he questioned.

"N-Nothing important. I just... um..." What to do, what to do?! "I'm just... shy around people I don't really know. The hood helps, and if I have a topic to focus on, I just can't make myself shut up, but... Well, this is kind of awkward..." He gestured for her to continue, so she gulped and pressed on. "Well, um... Every night when I was bored and didn't feel like going to sleep, I'd check the Foundation's Stand user records. I read through them so many times that I pretty much memorized all of their contents! And, um, well... I just... really admire you. There were so many comments left by people who knew you, and no one had a single bad thing to say. So, I had a few questions to ask about... you know, stuff you did."

"About that... I also need to ask you something," Bucciarati told her. "I'll answer your questions if you answer mine. Does that sound fair?"

"Oh, yes, absolutely. Um... so, you go first. You're the adult here," she mumbled.

"You said that the Speedwagon Foundation has records on all Stand users, and that you could get information on the ones who were retired or dead, right?" She nodded. "And you've been reading those records so thoroughly that you have them memorized, right?" She nodded again. "Before I died, my team was pursuing a Stand user named Diavolo. He killed half of them, including me. I died before I saw what ended up happening to him. I need to know... did I succeed? Is he dead?" he asked.

Kiran thought about it for a moment, trying to recall. "Diavolo... Diavolo... Yes, I remember that name coming up. It was particularly bizarre, though. I can tell you for sure that he's not dead. But that doesn't mean you failed!" she quickly assured, noticing the look on his face. "It's just... how do I put this? There's a third status that can result in records being released: 'Incapacitated'. I've only seen it four times, and one of those times was him. I'm still unsure what it means; how these people were incapacitated was never released, most likely due to the person who did it still being A&A. Oh, uh, A&A means alive and active. And I know you wouldn't know, because the others were either incapacitated during the Morioh incident of 1999 or the Florida incident of 2012. But I can tell you for certain that based on all of the other information I collected, he's not in power anymore. I even checked the comments on his profile for clues. The only one I saw that would give me even the vaguest hint of what happened to him was someone saying 'He got what he deserved. His suffering will never end.'"

He nodded, satisfied. "Good. I'm glad to hear it. Also... there are four people whose records I hope you haven't seen. The names are Giorno Giovanna, Guido Mista, Trish Una, and Pannacotta Fugo. Do any of those names sound familiar?" he asked.

"None. That's good; that means they're still A&A to this day. Well, at least, they were when I came here. I haven't exactly been able to check for updates here..." she stammered.

"That's fine. It's a relief to know that at least they managed to make it out alive," he assured. "I had faith, of course, but it's nice to know for sure. Sixteen years, though... Never expected any of us to live that long. Now, you had questions to ask me?"

"Oh, yes! Um... It's a little embarrassing, but... um... I've heard a lot of interesting things about you and some of the feats you pulled off... I'm curious about how many details they got right," she admitted shyly. "Is it... okay if I ask about them? I mean, it's not one of those 'I'd tell you but then I'd have to kill you' mafia deals, is it?"

"It's not. Go ahead."

\--------------------------------------------

By the time they made it back to the castle, Kiran was swooning. She practically skipped off to the library. "I've got some research to do on this Múspell place! Maybe I can find out something about this girl and where she came from! Anna, Alfonse, Sharena, can you get the word out about our new friends here so no one gets surprised? And Serra, get the girl to the infirmary for better treatment!" she ordered.

"Urgh, so bossy! Making me do all the work... honestly! Who does she think she is, ordering a delicate lady like me around?!" Serra complained, turning to Bucciarati. "You! Follow me to the infirmary! And don't you dare drop her!"

"Right." The groups all split up to get to work, Kiran vanishing behind the massive double doors of the library. She immediately raced to the back, books practically flying off the shelves in her wake as Dancing Queen grabbed as many as she could. She knew she'd seen something in one of these books; she just couldn't remember which one. One of the negatives of having read through so many of them already. She knew which sections to avoid, at least, so she had a smaller pool of books to choose from.

 _Hmm... I wonder if I could use Dancing Queen like the search command on a computer? Like, have her look out for a specific word, and alert me if that word comes up. I know I can do it for people or objects; why not words? It would be so much easier than flipping through every single book myself,_ she thought, already planning to try it. For starters, she opened a book on old Askran history and had her search for the word 'Askr'. One of Dancing Queen's eyes immediately lit up, and the Stand pointed to the aforementioned word. _Perfect! This'll cut my workload in half, at least!_ Quickly, she set the search for 'Múspell' and got to work. This was probably going to take hours, but at this point, she didn't care.

 _I can't believe I got a face-to-face encounter with another Stand user! And it was freaking_ Bruno Bucciarati, _of all people! The stories were true! Wait, no, get it together, Kiran! Sure, he's one of the greatest Stand users in known history and you're blessed to be able to talk to him, and you actually_ did _manage to talk to him, but this is no time to fangirl! You've got to focus! You know this new trick you came up with won't work if you're not focused!_

\--------------------------------------------

By the time Alfonse came by to check on her a few hours later, Kiran had gone through half of her chosen books. "Anything yet?" he asked.

"Nothing so far. I swear I saw something about this when I was doing some light reading a while ago. I hate it when I just can't remember which one it was," she grumbled, grabbing another book and passing one to Dancing Queen. "How are things with Bucciarati?"

"We got the word out that another Stand user from your world is in our ranks. He's been staying in the infirmary for now. He really didn't want to let that girl out of his sights," he told her. "The healers were pretty excited to see a new face and were perfectly happy to let him stay as long as he pulled his weight and helped them out a little. They gave him the usual warnings; no excess noise in the infirmary, injuries inflicted from pure stupidity will earn a scolding before healing, as demonstrated, and try to end up there are rarely as you can manage."

"Wait, there was a stupidity-based injury recently?" she asked, curious.

"While we were gone, Bartre attempted to toss his axe like Hector does in an attempt to impress Fir," he sighed. "Arthur got caught in the crossfire again. Lachesis was giving Bartre an earful for being irresponsible when I stopped by. She decided to punish him by making him stand guard to keep people from crowding into the infirmary to see the new face. Your friend just looked amused at the whole thing."

"Well, from what I've heard from him, his subordinates would bicker and scold each other like that quite often. Usually involving someone getting stabbed. Maybe he was feeling nostalgic," she suggested.

"Wait, so... stabbing people is normal in your world?" he asked, confused.

"Nope. But he was a member of an organization that operated outside the law. He's a good person, but he's still capable of doing bad things for the sake of helping people. More flexible moral codes are kind of a thing in the mafia," she answered. "Pretty sure it's considered fine as long as it's not lethal."

"I see... So, anyway, the healers decided to let him listen in on their gossip so he could get a general idea of who's who and what goes on around here. He seemed interested when I left, at least. Priscilla had started talking about what she'd caught Raven and Lucius doing."

"Ooh, scandalous. Well, reconnaissance is important. I'm sure Wrys will make sure he doesn't get too overwhelmed," she shrugged.

Alfonse let her leaf through the books in silence for a few minutes before he spoke up again. "You seem really attached to someone you've never met before," he pointed out.

"Well, I've never met another Stand user before. And for it to be him of all people..." she blushed, holding her book up close to her face.

"I'm pretty sure everyone who's seen you around him has already noticed you taking a... _special_ interest in him," he continued.

"I-It's not like that at all!" she protested. "I swear! I just... I found out about the Stand archives during a rough patch in my life. I really didn't understand much about what was going on with me, and... finding that showed me that I wasn't alone anymore. I was always amazed when I read through the section about him. He did so much, and changed so many lives. Reading that made me feel like I could accomplish things like that if I tried. He's... my hero. Someone I admire greatly. You understand, right?"

"I think I get it," he agreed. All of a sudden, one of Dancing Queen's eyes flashed. She tugged on Kiran's sleeve, pointing to the word 'Múspell'. Kiran immediately took the book and skimmed the page she'd stopped on. The pages were old and worn, and some of them were gone, but there it was, clear as day. And right there with it, the other kingdom from her dream: Nifl. She clapped her hands closed over her mouth as she quickly sprinted out the doors, Alfonse in hot pursuit.

"Jackpot!" she cheered the instant she was out of the borders of the library. "I've got it! I've found exactly what we need! Rally the others for a tactical meeting after dinner! I've got to skim through this and summarize everything I can! But we'll be doing it around the infirmary this time; it concerns the girl, and if she wakes up, we'll be able to get more answers."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be sure to put together some Bucciarati-centered chapters. I'll do my best to keep it interesting!
> 
> Kiran's not going to be taking down an experienced Stand user when all she'd ever done before was run away or attack someone who couldn't fight back. She may have protagonist power, but she doesn't have the natural talent that Giorno or Jotaro do. And yeah, she's an absolute fangirl. But she's embarrassed about her fangirling and tries to keep a lid on it. She's not very good at it. ;)
> 
> As for 'incapacitated', that's for the ones that suffered a fate worse than death. Angelo got fused to a rock, Terunosuke got turned into a book when his Stand backfired on him, Diavolo got the Requiem treatment, and... well, the only reason Giorno didn't show up in part 6 was because Araki couldn't think of a way he could possibly lose. In this slightly better timeline, Giorno showed up to the party, and brought Requiem with him. Then everyone went to Disney World because of course he'd bring Mista, and the Pistols wouldn't stop whining about wanting to go.
> 
> The Lost Lore feature has just been added to Heroes, and all I can think about is how pissed off Kiran is going to be when she finds out what happened to her favorite book.  
> Alfonse: Kiran's not going to be happy when she finds out...  
> Anna: You mean if she finds out.  
> Sharena: If... If is good.  
> Kiran: *nuclear screech*


	23. Intermission: Hero Bios

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to throw this in while I worked on the next chapter. Since Kiran's getting a little more into battle, I've decided to give her a Hero info page. Then I figured: why not make one for Bucciarati too?

**Kiran: Askr's Tactician**

Description: A mysterious girl from another world summoned into Askr. Watches the battlefield with her two-part Stand, Dancing Queen and Arrival. Shy and anxious, but curious and somewhat blunt. Appears in Fire Emblem: Heroes.

Introduction: "Hello. I'm Kiran, Askr's one and only summoner. Dancing Queen and I will watch your back for sure!"

Home:  
"This is so different from my old world; in good ways and in bad ones."  
"On patrol? Good. Some of these idiots don't seem to get the 'no infighting' rule.  
"Eep! Sorry, I'm... not feeling it today. Could you... um, excuse me?"  
"There's a heavy burden on my shoulders, but I'm willing to carry it. It's not like I'm alone in this, after all."  
"I was just heading to the library for a bit of light reading. And by that I mean the entire afternoon."  
"Um... hi. I'm just... here to deliver a message from (Friend's Name). Please excuse me..." (Friend visit)  
"I've never felt more at home than I have here. I've experienced so much that I've never experienced before. Having friends, travelling to new places, and actually being able to show my face to people without being afraid! People here accept me for who I am, warts and all. I've quickly gone from the quiet, mumbly weirdo with the imaginary friend to the respected tactician of the Kingdom of Askr. It's almost too good to be true! ...Ah? Sorry, I just... I can't stop tearing up! I love my home here, and I will protect it for the rest of my life. This I swear." (Level 40)

Info Screen:  
"You... want to talk to me? Sure. What about?"  
"Heehee! Stop it! That tickles!"  
"Everyone's so nice here. Well... almost everyone."  
"I'd never even touched a gun prior to coming here. I guess it was just... instinct."  
"Alfonse and Sharena have been so kind to me. Kinder than anyone else."  
"For so long, Dancing Queen has been my only friend. I'm really glad that's changed."  
"I'm not good at saying these kinds of things, but... I'm just so happy to be here."

Map:  
"This way?"  
"I see it."  
"If you're sure."

Level Up:  
"Oh, wow! I never thought I'd get this strong!" (5-6 stats up)  
"Any progress is good progress." (3-4 stats up)  
"Urgh. How disappointing..." (1-2 stats up)  
"I'll figure out how best to put this to good use." (New skill)

Critical/Skill:  
"Dancing Queen!"  
"I can do this!"  
"You can't find me!"  
"Out of sight, out of mind!"

Defeat:  
"Remember... me..."

**Bucciarati: Capo of Passione**

Description: A former capo from the mafia organization Passione. Carries a strong sense of justice, along with his Stand, Sticky Fingers. Extremely strong-willed. Appears in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Vento Aureo.

Introduction: "My name is Bruno Bucciarati. I'm a capo in Passione. Well... former capo, I suppose."

Home:  
"This place is beautiful. But I still miss the food from my home."  
"Are you going out on patrol? Please, be careful."  
"If you need help, you can ask me. I have experience dealing with rowdy subordinates."  
"Remember, you asked me to help you practice. Don't be late."  
"What do you do if the person you decided to follow turns out to be someone truly evil? In my case, I can't just turn a blind eye to it."  
"Are you in charge around here? (Friend) sent me to deliver a gift. You have a good friend. (Friend visit)  
"A long time ago, I died. Not physically, but... my heart died. I was just going through the motions, unable to do anything about the situation I'd found myself in. Then I met someone who gave me hope again. He brought me back to life, in more ways than one. And when I died, I felt more alive than ever before. You look a little confused. Don't worry. I don't really expect you to understand it. Now I've been given another chance to live. I suppose that means there's still something I have to do with my life. If it weren't for you, I might have frozen to death in the snow without being able to do anything with this chance. I swear to you that I won't waste it." (Level 40)

Info Screen:  
"Hm? Did you need something?"  
"As a capo, I have to follow my orders and protect my team. It's a difficult job."  
"Never underestimate your opponent. I've nearly been killed by some unexpected dangers."  
"I'll continue to work with you. However, if you dare to betray my heart..."  
"Abbacchio... Narancia... I'm sorry."  
"Despite the world we live in, I want to continue on the path that I believe in."  
"You're an honest person. I respect that more than you know."

Map:  
"Yes?"  
"If you say so."  
"Move out."

Level Up:  
"I still have a lot to learn." (5-6 stats up)  
"Good. I need to keep this up." (3-4 stats up)  
"Damn it. I need to be better." (1-2 stats up)  
"Thank you. This will be helpful in the future." (New skill)

Critical/Skill:  
"Sticky Fingers!"  
"Arrivederci!"  
"Are you prepared? I am!"  
"Scum will always fail!"

Defeat:  
"No! Not... yet!"


	24. New Faces

Bucciarati quietly listened in on the gossip from the hall, still impressed that these people could chatter so much and still focus on their work properly. Changing bandages, checking for infection, applying salves, and binding injured limbs, all while talking about who did what and who said what to whom. Occasionally, they had gotten his attention and asked him to get something from one of the high shelves, but even then, they usually took care of it themselves. Then an incident happened where some other Heroes were rushed in for medical care after a botched bout in the arena, so he was asked to wait on the bench outside to make some more room. No one was too badly injured, so they left the door open to air the room out a little.

The old man Wrys had been helpful when it came to clarifying things, helping him to get a better impression of this place. Essentially, Kiran was the 'boss' around here. Anna may have been her superior officer, as she said, but all the Heroes had at least some respect for Kiran, and Anna would defer to her orders on occasion. The only things she asked from them was that they don't attack each other and that they help out with the defense of Askr. She wasn't usually on the front lines, as if she died, they wouldn't be able to do any more summoning. But she wasn't like Diavolo, who hid away in the shadows and let other people do his dirty work for him. She was trying to strike a balance between keeping her distance and helping out directly. He could respect that.

That said, her behavior was odd for someone in a position of power. Even Diavolo, though he hid himself away from everyone, was still confident in his abilities. Kiran didn't seem to have much at all. In fact, she went into the fight with him saying that she had almost no chance of defeating him. She was right in the end, but how could she possibly keep all of her subordinates in line if she wasn't confident, or at least pretending to be? From what he'd heard, some of them seemed likely to take advantage of her lack of confidence. Not only that, but taking off for the library and delegating everything in a split second like that seemed a bit irresponsible for a leader. She could've at least made sure the girl made it to the infirmary safely. Was it lack of experience or just plain carelessness?

Speaking of the girl, when he last saw her, she looked much better than she had when she'd been brought in. As soon as they'd dropped her off, Serra had left, saying that her shift was over and she had to go pray. There was plenty of exasperation, but Priscilla took over with little trouble. Apparently, they all worked on shifts, with a minimum of four healers available at any given time. (He tried not to think about how upset Mista would have gotten.) The current shift had Wrys, Lachesis, Priscilla, and Sakura, who had been giving him odd looks every now and again. Priscilla was checking on the girl, Sakura was patching up Ephraim (who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there), Wrys was handling the minor injuries on Xander, and Lachesis was tending to Arthur, who was unconscious and had apparently been injured in some stupidity-related axe-throwing accident. The culprit, Bartre, was standing guard outside with him as his punishment.

"I said I was sorry!" he protested. "I'm usually way more careful with my axe! It won't happen again, I swear!"

"Really, it shouldn't have even happened once!" Lachesis scoffed. She took a quick look through the open door at Bucciarati. "I certainly hope you're not that irresponsible."

"Don't worry; I don't have the luxury of being irresponsible," he answered.

"Good. I am glad to see we have a proper, respectable man joining us," she told him, looking satisfied. "We could always use more of those and fewer uncultured boors."

"Speaking of that, I overheard that awful Narcian trying to argue with Klein again," Priscilla started.

"He didn't take the bait, did he?" Lachesis asked.

"No. Clarine did, though. The two ended up getting into a shouting match because Narcian dared to insult her beloved brother. Nothing physical, thankfully. It seems like Narcian doesn't want Kiran taking time out of her day to yell at him again, for whatever reason. Anyway, Klein had to scold her after that," she sighed. "As expected of Count Reglay's son. He's so noble and kind."

"A-Are you and his father acquainted?" Sakura asked.

"Somewhat," she admitted. "I knew _of_ him, of course; there wasn't a noble in Etruria who didn't. We were in the same army, but we never got a chance to speak to each other. And his student, Erk, was assigned to be my bodyguard for a time."

"Erk... Oh, I've heard that name before!" Sakura realized. "He was G-General Cecilia's teacher! A-And Serra was complaining about him not being here yet."

"Yes, he was her bodyguard for a while, too. He told me a lot about how he would gladly go his entire life without ever having to see her again. Imagine his disappointment when she turned out to be part of the army that was offering to help him rescue me," she giggled.

"Oh, dear," Wrys sighed. "I can admit, Serra can be somewhat... difficult."

Bucciarati decided to tune out the gossip for a moment. It was certainly helpful to get an idea of who was who and what went on regularly, but he noticed someone else approaching him like he wanted to talk. Bartre's temporary job as bodyguard also entailed making sure he, as the newcomer, didn't get too crowded, but he'd already gone ahead and told him that one-on-one conversations were fine. "Hey, new guy!" Hector greeted cheerfully, not noticing the small wince. _Such a familiar voice... I can't help but wonder how Mista's doing._

Well, if he was going to be working with these people, it would be best to make an effort to get to know them. "Hector, right? We met earlier, but I don't think we had an opportunity to speak like this," he mused.

"Sorry about that, by the way," Hector apologized. "I did want to talk earlier and get to know you better, but you were a bit busy with Kiran, and I was in a hurry. I promised my daughter I'd help her practice today, and I didn't want to let her down. Hey, Bartre, is that how it is with kids? I'm not used to being a father, so I don't really know."

"That's exactly how it is," Bartre confirmed. "I'd do just about anything for Fir. She complains a lot that I'm being overprotective, but I just want to make up for all that time we lost when she was young. Having a daughter is hard, but it's worth it. Hey, you have any kids?"

"You kidding? He's way too young for that!" Hector argued. "I've at least got the excuse that Lilina was summoned from a point twenty years in my future so I haven't actually had her yet."

Bucciarati actually had to think about it for a moment. He thought about those early nights when he first started putting together his own team. He was only seventeen, still a child himself, but he found himself taking responsibility for Fugo. He just couldn't bring himself to leave someone so young all on their own, like he had been. It had been hard, to say the least. Neither of them really knew what they were doing. Fugo would get up as early as possible and get agitated if there was nothing for him to do. He didn't like being touched if he couldn't see the person doing it, and would lash out violently if he couldn't keep himself calm. Their first day off together was a nightmare; Fugo didn't know what to do with free time, so he just locked himself in his room and panicked while Bucciarati tried to coax him out.

Over time, things got better. They both found their footing and figured out what needed to be done. That wasn't to say there weren't mistakes made every now and again. Abbacchio helped somewhat; that man was a whole other mess all his own, but it was nice to have someone his age around to help out and offer advice. Then Fugo brought Narancia to them, sick, hungry, filthy, and scared. Despite his efforts to keep him out of the gang, the kid came back and refused to leave. After that, he got Mista out of jail, and circumstances led to him moving in with them. Having more people his age around seemed to help Fugo come out of his shell more. And they all ended up looking to Bucciarati for guidance and advice, even though he wasn't that much older than them.

Did all of that make him a parental figure? The others seemed to think so. Of course he knew about Narancia and Mista half-jokingly calling him 'mom' when they were off duty and thought he wasn't listening. Fugo often came to him for reassurance after losing his temper, driven by the irrational fear that he would be abandoned for it. Not to mention Abbacchio scolding him about bringing home more kids all the time. And did Giorno and Trish count? They did seem to cling to him whenever they allowed themselves to get a little more emotional than usual...

"Five, actually," he finally answered, to both of their shocks. "My friend once said that I have a bad habit of picking up strays."

\--------------------------------------------

What had started as a simple icebreaker eventually became a discussion. Bucciarati's personal experiences may have been drastically different from Bartre's and Hector's, but they were still able to understand where everyone was coming from. The environment was so calm that he was almost caught off guard by another familiar-sounding voice.

"Thank you for your time, Wrys. Princess Sakura, Corrin asked me to tell you that she'll be waiting for you in the courtyard when your shift ends."

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and he froze instinctively. Sticky Fingers materialized behind him, ready to strike down the threat. _Calm down! It's not him! Diavolo is gone! But... from the gossip I've heard, Kiran sometimes summons enemies to this place and has to take extra measures to keep fights from breaking out. What if he's here, and she lied to me about not knowing his fate? ...No, that's not possible. She was telling the truth throughout our entire conversation. She's far too nervous to string together a lie. Her skittish personality is not an act. Any information she hides is done through avoidance rather than lies. It could just be another similar-sounding person._

"O-oh, thank you, Prince Xander," she answered. "I'm just waiting for Elise to take over my shift, and then I'll be right over!" Just as he thought; it was just someone who sounded similar.

"Hey, you okay?" Bartre had immediately noticed the tension, it seemed. Bucciarati steadied himself, calling Sticky Fingers back.

"It's nothing. I'm fine," he insisted.

"Don't try to pull one over on me. I've been a warrior for as long as I can remember. And that? That was pure battle instinct. Something made you feel threatened, so you got ready to defend yourself," Bartre argued.

"That was... surprisingly insightful of you, Bartre," Hector noted, puzzled.

"Hey, it's been twenty years since we met. I've grown a little."

"Well... you weren't wrong," Bucciarati admitted. No point in lying about this if Bartre could see through him so easily. "I thought I heard someone I knew for a moment."

"I take it you parted with whoever it was on bad terms?" Bartre guessed.

"You could say that."

"That kind of thing happens more often than you'd think," Hector assured. "For a few days after I arrived, some of the younger ones kept flinching whenever I talked. Turns out I sound like that guy Narcian who was tormenting them in Etruria."

"It happens to the best of us. Raven was bad enough, but every single time Henry spoke up, I thought my brother-in-law was around a corner somewhere getting ready to pick a fight!" Bartre agreed.

"The Sword Demon Karel, right?" Hector guessed. "The guy who only came along with us because he wanted to fight and kill strong people?"

"That's him. Karla told me he wasn't always like that, though. And he certainly calmed down in his later years. He was actually pretty ashamed of his out-of-control youth," he explained. "Well, anyways, I wouldn't be surprised if you sounded like someone that someone here knows! I know I've heard a voice like yours somewhere around the castle every now and again, but I wasn't paying attention, so I'm not sure who."

\--------------------------------------------

Xander left shortly after that, just in time for the shift rotation. According to Hector, the next batch coming in to take over were Elise, Lucius, Mist, and Genny. Elise practically jumped on Sakura, hugging her happily, while the shy princess blushed in surprise. Wrys gave Mist a gentle pat on the head, which she gratefully accepted. Priscilla was going over everything she'd already done for the girl with Lucius. And Lachesis was instructing a nervous Genny about how to tend to Arthur's injury, assuring her that she was capable of handling it and that she didn't need to be so worried.

Kiran rushed over just as the first batch of healers left, an old book in her hands and a grin from ear to ear. "I think I've got just what we're looking for!" she cheered as quietly as she could. Alfonse was following right behind her, looking apologetic, with Anna and Sharena on their heels.

Bucciarati raised an eyebrow. "You're really having a meeting here of all places?" he questioned.

Kiran blushed, looking down at her feet. "W-Well, we don't usually," she admitted. "But this is a bit different. It concerns the girl you rescued, so it's more convenient to have our meeting here just in case she wakes up. Then we can ask her some questions. Nothing too stressful, of course. She's bound to be exhausted. So, Bartre, who's still around besides our healers?"

"Just us, Arthur, Ephraim, and the girl," he reported. "We can take off now, right? Tactical meetings aren't exactly something I'm interested in."

"Go ahead. Hector, I know you're also not really interested in this, so you can leave too if you want," Kiran suggested. The two left with a quick wave to Bucciarati. "Were they behaving? They can get a bit much sometimes."

"No need to worry about that. They were great," he told her.

"Oh, good." Ephraim took that as his cue to take off, ignoring the wave of protests he got from the healers. "Hey, Ephraim, you don't need to leave. You should be resting if you're hurt," she said.

"I'm fine," he answered stiffly.

"You're still bleeding," she said flatly, glaring at a small puddle of blood forming at his feet.

"I know how to make a wound this small stop bleeding. The worst of it has already been treated. I'm going back to my quarters to rest," he insisted.

"Stubborn..." she growled, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Fine, whatever. Just make sure you clean it and bandage it up properly. Wouldn't want you to get sick from a rotten wound or lose your leg." He limped off, and she sighed.

"Couldn't you just order him to stay and get treatment? I was under the impression that you're in charge," Bucciarati commented.

Kiran shrugged. "I guess I could," she admitted. "But it's not really worth the effort. It might hurt my relationship with him later on. No leader wants to deal with a subordinate who isn't willing to listen to them. And no one wants to listen to a boss who doesn't consider their feelings. Some will, but bad relationships just lead to frustration later on. Besides, this wasn't his usual stubbornness. He seemed really upset about something. He only gets like that when he starts thinking about... Well, it's not my place to say. Better if I give him some time to cool off. I'll check on him later and see how he's holding up."

Well, that was an interesting way to go about things. Extremely different from Diavolo. She was considering the feelings of her subordinates, and working with them as a team rather than ordering them around from a distance. More like a capo like him than a boss like Diavolo. Still... "Aren't you concerned that someone might take advantage of that?" he asked.

"If it happens, I can and will deal with it. Doing it this way guarantees that I have support from many powerful friends if someone tries anything with me," she decided. "Besides, I've been putting up with bullies my whole life. It's left me with a healthy amount of paranoia. I know what to watch out for. Finally, you and I are the only Stand users here. Just because they can see her doesn't mean they can hurt her. I have the advantage if I have to fight back, even if I don't necessarily want to."

"Well said." Her skittish personality certainly wasn't an act. He'd initially thought that this would make her an easy target; someone that could easily be walked over if the wrong person showed up. Clearly, he was wrong. She was still a nervous girl, but there was strength hidden there. He'd seen a bit of it when they fought, and he was seeing some more of it now. There was certainly room for improvement, especially with regards to her confidence, but there was clearly potential and a desire for improvement. As long as she held onto the resolve to do so, she'd be able to improve and grow as a leader and as a person. And if she needed help... well, she had a lot of allies to help and support her.

"Now, then, shall we get this meeting started?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voice actor references used:
> 
> Bucciarati, Ryoma, and Lyon: Yuuichi Nakamura  
> Diavolo and Xander: Katsuyuki Konishi  
> Mista, Narcian, and Hector: Kosuke Toriumi  
> Karel, Raven, and Henry: Bryce Papenbrook
> 
> There's one more big voice reference, but I'm saving that one for later. I bet you can guess who it is. On another note, happy birthday, Bucciarati! (And Joseph)


	25. Settling In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Urgh... This chapter just did not want to be written. I'm still not completely satisfied with how it turned out.

"Okay, so ever since I had that weird dream, I had a feeling I'd heard the names Múspell and Nifl somewhere before," Kiran started. "Normally, I don't put much stock in dreams. But a dream that I can still remember clearly that gave me information valuable to our fight? That's clearly significant. The events of today's campaign only made me more certain about this."

"So that's why you spent most of the evening buried in the back of the library?" Anna asked.

Kiran nodded, showing everyone the book she had found. "This thing is freaking old, and it's missing a lot of pages, but it had enough of the information that I was looking for. It's all about the three kingdoms on the continent across the sea. The name of one of the kingdoms has been lost because of damage to the pages, sadly, but the other two, get this, are Nifl and Múspell."

"Now that I think about it, Father mentioned these kingdoms once," Alfonse mused. "He said that they were across the sea, and it was far too difficult to cross and reach them. Most records of them are buried somewhere in the very back of the archives."

"Apparently, Nifl and Askr were allies a long, long time ago. The distance between the two continents was extremely problematic for that, though. Your father was right about one thing; the sea is far too unpredictable to get across by ship. There aren't a lot of details on this, but I figure that someone, most likely a previous ruler of Askr or Embla, used magic on the ocean to prevent an invasion. I say that because one of the few ways to get across involves the use of the tome Naglfar. Who else but someone who regularly travels to other worlds would come up with the idea to use one of the legendary weapons of a kingdom from another world as a key to cross over?" Kiran theorized.

"Wait a minute... didn't we chase Veronica out of the Sacred World a few months ago? That's where that tome belongs, right?" Sharena asked, worried.

"Right. An alliance between Embla and Múspell would be a worst-case scenario for us, but we still need to be prepared for that possibility," Kiran warned. "As for the other reason for our meeting... I'm pretty sure I know who that girl is. Her armor has a Niflese crest on it, right on her belt. Based on what Princess Gunnthrá has told me... It's very likely that this is her missing younger sister, Princess Fjorm."

"Something is wrong. Offering us aid from a distance is one thing, but why and how would a princess from Nifl come all the way here alone?" Alfonse questioned.

"'Why', I'm not sure. We'll have to ask her when she wakes up. As for 'how', there's a gateway between the continents, according to these records. Only someone of royal blood of Askr or Nifl can open it. Apparently, it was left there long ago when the two kingdoms were still allied. They needed a way to cross the sea to quickly aid each other if something happened. When things became peaceful, they didn't need to cross over anymore. Eventually, they became completely cut off, but the gateway is still there, as far as I know."

"And you're certain you can trust this Princess Gunnthrá?" Bucciarati asked.

"She hasn't given me any reason not to yet. If she does, I'll handle it, but for now, we're not exactly in a position to reject aid," she answered. "Besides, I have a way of protecting myself if need be. I'll try it out the next time she tries to contact me."

"Whatever you're going to do, please try not to cause a diplomatic issue," Alfonse warned.

"I won't! I'm just going to start sleeping with Dancing Queen active!" she insisted. "If I do that, she can come into my dreams with me, so if I get attacked somehow, I can fight back."

"All the same, be careful. She might see that as a threat," Bucciarati stressed.

"I know, I know! I'll make her as non-threatening as possible. I know what I'm doing. Sheesh, it's like listening to an echo in here," Kiran mumbled. "But I've also decided not to tell them too many details about Stands until I can confirm that they're 100% trustworthy. I've gotten the word out, so hopefully, people will be careful about what they say."

"You've certainly been busy planning," Anna noted.

"Excuse me, Lady Kiran?" Lucius called, peeking out through the open door.

"Oh, Lucius. Were we bothering you? Sorry; we can be a little quieter," she apologized.

"No, it's alright. I just wanted to let you know that the girl is waking up. You may speak to her if she feels well enough to do so, but if you're going to ask her questions, I'll ask that you try not to crowd her. She's been through a lot, from what I've seen and heard," he reported.

"Ah, perfect timing! Thank you, Lucius. Well, no time like the present. Let's get some answers..."

\--------------------------------------------

Everything felt so hazy... What had happened? The last thing she could remember was stumbling through the snow, hoping to put just a little more distance between herself and Múspell's tactician after something caught her attention. She could feel herself growing weaker, but if she got captured again, that would be the end of it. She couldn't allow herself to die; not yet. She'd crested a small bank and stumbled, only barely being able to use Leiptr to hold herself up. A voice had called out to her... a man's voice, if she was remembering correctly. Then... nothing.

Where was she now? The ground felt soft beneath her... was this a bed? And her wounds... they didn't hurt nearly as much as they did before. Had someone found her and treated them? Whoever they were, she clearly owed them a great debt. Slowly, she opened her eyes, wincing a bit at the change in brightness. "There we go. Rise and shine, sleeping beauty." Confused, she turned to the side. There was a person standing there, probably about her age, but she couldn't tell due to the cloak covering them up. She caught a glimpse of blue eyes under the hood, but that was all she could make out in terms of features. They smiled right back at her.

"Where... am I?" she rasped, only just then noticing how thirsty she was. She must have been unconscious for quite some time.

"Sharena, could you get her some water?" Based on voice alone, this person was a girl. A blonde girl, probably Sharena, passed a waterskin to Fjorm, and she slowly drank as much as she could.

"Thank you. Were you the one who saved me?" she asked, coughing slightly from residual dryness.

Sharena shook her head. "It wasn't me," she answered. "No, only one person in our army could find you passed out in the snow... It was Kiran!" She dramatically gestured to the hooded girl, who blushed and looked down.

"It wasn't all me," she stammered, fiddling with her fingers. "Bucciarati found you first. He was already protecting you when we caught up. And he's the one who carried you all the way back here." She nervously pointed to the man in question. That... was the strangest outfit she had ever seen. Fjorm blushed at the sight of his bare chest. No one wore clothes like that in Nifl; it exposed far too much skin to the elements for any sort of comfort. And she'd never seen such warmly tanned skin. Everyone in Nifl was light skinned because of the frequent snowfall. The clouds blocked out the sun for most of the year.

"Then you have my sincere gratitude, Bucciarati," she thanked, bowing as well as she could in her position.

"I just did what any decent person would have done," he insisted. "I don't need thanks for it."

"All the same, you must allow me to repay your kindness somehow," she insisted.

"So!" Kiran started suddenly, grabbing her attention. "I'm Kiran, as you know, that's Bucciarati, this is Commander Anna of the Order of Heroes, and these two are Prince Alfonse and Princess Sharena of the Kingdom of Askr."

"Oh! Forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Fjorm. I am... I was... a princess of the Kingdom of Nifl," she said sadly. Thinking about her home after everything that had just happened... She felt tears start to well up, but she held herself together. It wouldn't do to cry in front of some people she'd just met.

"As I thought," Kiran mumbled. "Your sister Gunnthrá mentioned you."

"Gunnthrá?! Is she safe?! Is she alright?! My siblings and I were separated when Nifl was attacked. I've been so worried about all of them ever since," Fjorm explained.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know. This may sound bizarre, but... she's been talking to me in my dreams."

"You? So you're the one then..." she mused.

"I take it you know something about this?" Alfonse questioned.

Fjorm nodded. "When we first started hearing rumors that the Kingdom of Múspell was preparing to invade us, Gunnthrá decided to perform the Rite of Dreams. It is a sacred rite connected to the fate of our kingdom. One of the royal family must offer their prayers to the dragon of ice, Nifl. In doing so, their fate becomes bound to someone whom they are fated to meet. The two will then become able to meet in dreams. My sister hoped that she would meet someone who would help to save Nifl from King Surtr, but... my homeland was destroyed by his Fiery Hordes. They moved onto this kingdom after that, and I pursued them by passing through the gateway between our two continents. I was hoping to get here first and assassinate him, but... you saw how well that turned out."

"And now they're here, intent on invading our kingdom as well," Anna summarized. "Then it's our duty to face them. Princess, you should rest. You can-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, but there's no way I can do that," Fjorm insisted politely. "You must let me come with you. Please." There was no way she was letting them leave her behind. Not with this. Not when it involved... _him_.

"I don't see a reason why not," Kiran said with a shrug. "We need all the help we can get. As long as she gets a clean bill of health, she should be able to come along with us. Clearly, she can fight, and she has experience with the enemy that the rest of us don't have. Besides, I have a feeling she'll follow us anyway. I'm guessing there's a personal stake in this?"

Clearly, this girl was observant. "Yes. As I said, my homeland was destroyed by King Surtr of Múspell. But not only that... I watched as he killed my mother," she answered. Her voice shook somewhat, but she somehow managed to keep herself from crying. Honestly, she wasn't sure how she wasn't sobbing. "I can't let the same thing happen to your kingdom. Please, whatever strength I have...let me lend it to you."

_Grumble_

Fjorm blushed as her stomach started to loudly complain. How had she not noticed how hungry she was? "Maybe you should eat something first before joining us on your little revenge quest? Just a thought," Kiran suggested, trying not to laugh. "An army runs on its stomach, after all." Her stomach then joined in, causing the hooded girl to blush.

Alfonse sighed and looked at her reproachfully. "You were so busy working you forgot to eat again, didn't you." He wasn't even asking; it was apparently just that commonplace.

"...Yes," she mumbled, curling up and looking down at her feet. "I'll just go raid the storeroom for a midnight snack before I do my last round of the day. Maybe I can grab something for Fjorm too? A little late-night snack for two while you guys get her guest quarters in order?"

Another stomach grumble got everyone's attention. "Make that three," Bucciarati sighed. "I honestly can't remember the last time I ate."

"Understandable, given your situation," Kiran said with a nod, ignoring how shocked everyone else was. "These things happen. Look, I promise I'll show up for breakfast tomorrow and have a proper meal then. Uh, so, Lucius, is Fjorm good to leave?"

"Changing the subject won't make us forget this," Alfonse grumbled.

"Yes. Lady Priscilla and Sister Serra were able to heal most of the damage. Princess, it would be best for you to try walking around a little, but please don't strain yourself," Lucius insisted. "If your wounds start to hurt again, please come back here immediately so I can take another look at them."

\--------------------------------------------

"Do you always raid the storeroom late at night?" Bucciarati asked.

Kiran shrugged, slipping into the dark room soundlessly. "Not always. Sometimes I just really don't want to deal with people, so I stay away until everything quiets down or grab what I need and go eat somewhere else. And sometimes I just forget to eat because I'm so busy. Don't worry; I leave notes about what I take so we can keep track of our supplies. Let's see... Lots of meat in here, but that's a bit rich for a pre-bed snack. ...Urgh, seriously, Robins?! Bear jerky again?! That stuff's nasty! Hmm... Oh, sweet, apples! I love apples! Anyone else want some?" she called.

Bucciarati made a face. "No thanks. I hate apples," he said.

"I'll take some," Fjorm decided. She'd never actually tried an apple before. She'd heard of them, of course, but they weren't a crop that was regularly grown in Nifl. Kiran tossed a bright red apple out of the darkness, nearly hitting her in the head.

"These ones are particularly fresh! I really hope you like them," Kiran said, still digging in the storage. "As for you... this is going to be tricky. From what I know, Italians have pretty high standards about food quality."

"I'll make do with whatever you can find for now. Please, don't worry about it," he told her.

Fjorm, meanwhile, took a hesitant bite into the apple's skin. There wasn't much of a taste to that part, so she bit down a little harder to break through. Immediately, an explosion of juice filled her mouth. It was a little sour and a little bitter, but mostly sweet. She happily took another bite, relishing in the taste. "Good, right? Just mind the core! We're trying to keep as many seeds as we can so we can grow more," Kiran explained. "It's nice that there's at least _some_ tastes from home here."

"You're not from this world originally?" she asked curiously.

"Pretty much the only ones who are would be the royalty and Anna. But ours is even more different than the worlds these Heroes usually come from," she confirmed. "The culture shock can be a bit startling sometimes."

"Is there anything in particular you miss?" Fjorm asked. This girl helped to save her life; the least she could do was make an attempt to get to know her.

"More than anything else? ...My mother's cooking," she admitted. "She was always so humble about it, but everyone who tried it agreed that she was amazing. She loved it too; she had this box full of old recipes and an entire bookshelf loaded up with cookbooks. Her banana bread was widely considered the best, and her muffins were great too; I used to taste-test those for her. Personally, I always loved her fudge the most. Oh, just thinking about it is making me crave something sweet..."

"Really? Tell me more about this fudge," a new voice asked. The two flinched; that voice came from inside the storage room. And it sounded so much like Bucciarati's own that it made their hair stand on end.

"It's like a solid block of chocolate," Kiran went on, ignorant to what was going on. Fjorm moved for the door while Bucciarati immediately started zipping the wall open. "It just melts in your mouth the second you take a bite. You can feel the slight sharp tingle of the sugar against your tongue; heck, just talking about it, I can almost taste it! ...Eep! Gaius, what the hell?! Don't sneak up on me like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" she yelped. The two immediately relaxed; sounded like it was someone she knew, at least. Bucciarati quietly zipped the hole back up, hoping that Fjorm hadn't noticed.

"Sorry 'bout that, Mouse," he apologized. "Just lookin' for a little midnight snack."

"Should've figured. Guessing those sticky fingers of yours are looking for something sweet? Well, there's still plenty of candy left over from the Harvest Festival. Just don't touch the kids' stashes. They'll know it was you, and they'll never forgive you," she warned.

"Gotcha. So, those two outside. The new guy and the injured girl, right?" he asked. "And you're sure they're trustworthy?"

"Yes and yes. I was just grabbing some food for everyone. Oh, looks like Leo grew some fresh tomatoes! Want some, Bucciarati?" she called.

"Yes, thank you," he answered. She tossed a couple out and he caught them deftly, taking a bite out of one. "It's nice to have a little taste of home," he agreed, "and these are really good quality, but I'll have to try and do something with them tomorrow. I'm better with fish, but it can't be too hard."

"I'm sure people would appreciate it. Especially Leo," Kiran assured, coming back out with an armful of apples and tomatoes. Behind her was Gaius, already chewing on a piece of candy. "Alright. I've still got a round to do before bed, so I'll probably see you tomorrow, Gaius."

"Just don't stay up too late again, Mouse. Can't come up with the plans that keep us all alive when you're half-asleep," he said, taking off and disappearing into the shadows.

"How did none of us notice him earlier?" Fjorm wondered.

"Thieves, assassins, and ninjas are masters of not being found when they don't want to be. They usually just follow me around and make sure I don't hurt myself, do something too stupid, or get hurt by someone who they don't trust. I'm guessing three of them are watching me right now just to make sure that you're not going to hurt me," she guessed.

"Four, actually," Gaius called back, ignoring the shushing he got from the others. "I'm still hanging around. Good guess, though!"

"Good to know! I've gotten used to it," she shrugged. "They're just taking precautions. They know that if I die, everyone else here is screwed, so I'm the highest-priority target if someone were to sneak in here and attack us. Sure, it was a little creepy at first, but I get why they do it. It's kind of a relief to not have to constantly watch my own back anymore. Still kind of annoying that they don't seem to understand the concept of privacy..."

"And you trust them? You mentioned some of them are assassins," Bucciarati pointed out.

"I trust _most_ of them," Kiran corrected. "The majority of them are fine as long as I'm not a threat to their bosses, but I certainly won't be letting my guard down around someone like Ursula any time soon."

"Good answer," another voice agreed. There was no real point in staying quiet now that Kiran and Gaius had exposed their numbers.

"Thank you, Clarisse," she answered, without even missing a beat. "That's the thing with assassins; they have their codes. It's what differentiates them from murderers who kill as they please. Now then, I really do have some work to do before turning in. Follow me; this'll be a good way to get your bearings, and I'll show you to your rooms when I'm done."

\--------------------------------------------

"Hey, Kiran! Can we talk for a moment?" Another familiar voice... Bucciarati tried not to react as the young man who called out approached them. Kiran seemed distracted, looking past him.

"Uh, sorry, Alm, I've got a delivery to take care of. Could you wait here for me for a bit? I'll get back to you as soon as possible, I promise," she apologized. Before getting an answer, she took off after someone else in the distance. "Hey, Cain, wait up! Sorry it took so long, but your order's finally ready!"

"Must be hard being in charge of an army this big," Alm commented. "Hopefully, things will slow down for a while so she can get a proper break. So, you two are new here? I'm Alm, leader of the Deliverance army of Zofia."

"It's nice to meet you," Fjorm greeted politely. "I am Princess Fjorm of Nifl."

"Oh, uh, s-sorry, Princess! I'm not used to speaking with royalty. Was I too informal? Clair's always yelling at me for that..." he muttered, worried.

"Don't worry, there's no need for formality here. This isn't my kingdom, after all," she assured.

"Thanks. And you... you're that guy from Kiran's world. Bucciarati, right?" Alm guessed.

"Word's gotten out so quickly already? I haven't even been here a full day," Bucciarati said, surprised.

"We've got a notice board in the main hall. People post updates on there at least once a day, and they usually end up gossiping about it, so news tends to spread pretty quickly," he explained. "Anyway, nice to meet you! A lot of people are interested in meeting you, but Kiran's got a rule that you don't crowd anyone who's new here to avoid overwhelming people. And I apologize in advance if Tobin and Gray end up pestering you later down the line. They're like that sometimes."

Fjorm took notice of a patch of red on the boy's arm, just slightly out of sight. "You're bleeding!" she cried. He immediately brought his arm out of sight, his face flushing guiltily.

"I-It's nothing. Really, it's not," he insisted. "I wouldn't want to burden you with my problems, Princess. It's not as bad as it looks, and it doesn't even hurt. This is actually what I wanted to talk to Kiran about. It's... It's kind of an ongoing thing we've been trying to deal with."

Bucciarati raised an eyebrow. "'An ongoing thing'?" he repeated. "If people are getting hurt because of it, shouldn't this take priority over whatever Kiran's delivering?"

"It's just me getting hurt, really," Alm admitted. "I wouldn't want to bother her too much over a personal problem. There's this guy here, Berkut... He's the nephew of the emperor of Rigel, the empire that borders Zofia. They're trying to invade, so I joined the Deliverance to fight for my home. Well, that, and I wanted to get out of my village and see the world... Anyway, I wasn't all too thrilled to see him here, but I was willing to put that aside for now and work with him to protect Askr. But he saw the mark on my hand and just... lost it. Next thing I know, he's going after Kiran and harassing her for information."

"Did she tell him anything?" Bucciarati asked. She wasn't a good liar, so her ability to keep her mouth shut would need to be pretty good to make up for it.

"Not at first. You didn't hear this from me, but there are two ways to get Kiran to tell you anything she's hiding. Yelling at her isn't one of them. Anyway, I'll admit I was curious about what was going on, so I decided to try myself. I told her that if I knew what was upsetting him so much, maybe I could do something about it. She still didn't budge; said we needed to work it out ourselves. Then Berkut insulted her and questioned her competence. That was a disaster..." Alm sighed. "You don't insult Kiran. She's a nice girl and all, but she's really petty and vindictive. You hurt her, and she'll go out of her way to make you pay for it."

"She didn't seem like that type of person when we met her," Fjorm mused.

"That's because you just met her. She'll be a bit more guarded around you. When she knows someone a little better, she lets her guard down and they can see more of her," Alm told her. "She's got a tongue as sharp as a sword, and if she's angry, she'll make good use of it. Anyway, she got mad at him and told him that everything he was working for would be for nothing, and that the mark on my hand was exactly what he thought it was. He tried to attack me, but she got between us and held him off. He then locked himself in his quarters and refused to come out for a week. Kiran stopped by to check on him every day; something about being worried about his sanity?"

"Ever since then, he's been avoiding me. I can understand why; Kiran felt really bad about the whole thing, so she told me what was going on. Apparently, this mark means I'm the emperor's son; I don't really get all the details, but that's what I got. That makes me the rightful heir to the throne instead of him. She explained that he feels like he's been lied to because of this. He spent his whole life thinking that he was destined to be emperor, but nobody told him about my existence. So for him to find out that some... 'commoner born in a barn' is to rule Rigel instead of him... of course he's upset. I don't blame him at all."

"But... I don't really have a family. It's just been me and my grandfather for the longest time, and he's not even here. I never knew anything about my parents or where I came from. Berkut is the only connection to my family that I have. I'd like us to at least get along, but no matter what I try, he just keeps pushing me away. I told him I didn't even care about the throne, but I think that just upset him more. I was hoping Kiran would have some advice on what to do. She mentioned having problems with her brother once, so I thought she might know something."

\--------------------------------------------

_"Bucciarati! Fugo stabbed me again!"_

_Bucciarati looked up from the report he was working on. Narancia had a fork lodged in his cheek and he looked like he was about to cry from frustration. "What happened this time?" he asked, sighing. This was the third time Narancia had gotten stabbed in just as many days. And every single time, he'd come running to him or Abbacchio to complain. At least he seemed more annoyed than hurt._

_"I don't even know! I was just talking to him about something we could do after today's mission, and he just stabbed me and ran off!" Narancia huffed. "I don't get it! If he has such a huge goddamn problem with me, why did he help me in the first place?!"_

_"Hmm... Fugo wouldn't just stab someone for no reason. And if it was something you said, he would've yelled at you to make it clear. Where were your hands while you were talking?" Narancia tended to move his hands a lot when he was talking about something he was interested in. Maybe..._

_"Huh? I wasn't really paying attention. Why?" he asked._

_"You probably brushed up against him while you were talking and didn't notice. You're not the problem, Narancia. Fugo really doesn't like being touched, especially if you catch him off-guard," Bucciarati explained. "Most likely, you startled him. He panicked and lashed out instinctively. He probably feels horrible about hurting you."_

_"...Now I feel shitty about yelling at him," Narancia mumbled. He didn't even try to demand an answer, despite how curious he surely was about it. "...Hey, what does Fugo like? I mean, I know he likes books and smart people stuff like that, but I need something specific."_

_"What brought this on all of a sudden?" he asked, slightly puzzled._

_"I want to get him something nice while we're out so he knows I'm really sorry about what happened," he explained. "I don't want him to hate me. I want to be friends with him, but I just keep messing up and making him angry. What do I do?"_

_"I think this is a good start," Bucciarati assured. "You need to let him see that you respect his boundaries. Let him come to you. Believe me, it's hard for him to warm up to people. It might be a little more difficult for you than it was for me and Abbacchio. He's never had any friends his age, so he doesn't really know how to act. It'll probably take time. I know it's frustrating, but you just need to be patient. And, honestly, I think a straightforward apology would work well too."_

_A few days later, Bucciarati happened to catch Fugo and Narancia at breakfast. Narancia was talking a mile a minute about something or other, and Fugo was listening patiently. There was a bit of tension underneath the surface, as Narancia's hands were moving a lot and getting dangerously close to Fugo. Suddenly, Narancia paused for a moment and moved his chair to the side, giving Fugo some more personal space. The look of relief and gratitude on the younger boy's face prompted a smile from Bucciarati. It looked like they were going to be okay for now._

\--------------------------------------------

"Have you tried giving him space?" Bucciarati asked. Alm seemed perplexed, so he tried to clarify. "If you give him space and show him that you respect his boundaries, he might be more willing to listen to you. Just let him come to you, and try to be patient with him."

"Huh... I hadn't even considered that," Alm admitted. "It doesn't really feel right doing nothing, but... I guess I could give that a try and see what happens."

"I know it's frustrating, but these things take time," he said. "You've tried everything else, right? You have nothing to lose trying this, at least."

"I guess you're right. I'll keep that in mind. You know, you're surprisingly easy to talk to," Alm commented. "Sorry if I bothered you with all that unloading. I guess I just really needed to get that off my chest."

"Don't worry about it; getting a better idea of what's going on around here is always a good thing."

"Okay, I'm done!" Kiran chirped, approaching the group. "Sorry for blowing you off like that, but I'd been looking for Cain for a while now. It's hard to find people in a place this big! So, what did you need?"

"Oh, that's alright, Kiran. It's been taken care of," Alm assured. "I'm going to be trying something new with Berkut. Hopefully, it works out."

"Okay, if you're sure. Just be careful, alright? If he tries anything, let me know and I'll tell him off," she said.

"Got it. Good night!" Alm took off with a little wave, leaving the three alone.

Before anyone could say anything, Kiran sighed, frustrated. "I know, I really dropped the ball on that one," she admitted shamefully. "He told you about what I did, right? I know I shouldn't be letting my personal problems get in the way of my work, but... Berkut just makes me so mad sometimes, thinking that commoners are somehow lesser people. Well, guess what, my mother grew up playing in a barn and I'm higher ranked than him! Who's lesser now, huh?!"

"Are... you okay?" Fjorm asked, worried.

Kiran took a few deep breaths, Dancing Queen gripping her shoulder unnoticed. "I'm fine, just... Prejudice really pisses me off. I'm hoping he learns something from all this, but he's as stubborn as I am. I personally would have told Alm to just cut him out of his life, but he's too nice to do that. I wouldn't be the best person to ask about that, anyways," she said, shrugging. "He brought up my brother, right? Well, I never fixed my relationship with him. We'd only barely gotten to the point where we could have dinner together if other people were around. And he lives too far away for us to really make any progress. So I'm not really the best at dealing with family problems. Thanks for the help, Bucciarati. I really hope your advice works."

"Do you... regret not fixing your relationship with your brother when you had the chance?" Fjorm asked cautiously. She couldn't imagine fighting with any of her siblings so badly that she never spoke to them again.

Kiran just shrugged. "I don't really know how I feel about it," she sighed. "He did seem really sorry for everything he did to me when we were kids, but... I'm still not sure if I want to forgive him. There are some things people do that you just can't forgive, you know?"

"Even if he's your family?" Fjorm pressed.

" _Especially_ if they're family. They're supposed to look out for you and support you when you need it, and he never did anything like that. Him being family doesn't change the fact that he was awful to me for years. There were good moments, don't get me wrong, but... our relationship was complicated from the beginning. I wanted to have a good relationship with him, I really did, but that ship sailed a long time ago," she said sadly.

"I'm sorry if I touched on a sensitive topic. Please forgive me," Fjorm apologized. Upsetting her host on her first day... how careless could she be?

"It's fine; you were just curious. Curiosity is something to be encouraged, as long as you're careful with it," she assured. "On another note, with my delivery taken care of, I'm all done for the evening. I'll show you guys to your rooms, and I'll be turning in for the night right after."

\--------------------------------------------

"Okay, so my room is right here if you need anything," Kiran said, stopping right in front of her door. "I just checked in with Alfonse, and your rooms are all set up. Fjorm, yours is just down the hall; it's the third door on the right. Bucciarati, I insisted that you get the empty room next to mine. I've been leaving it open for a while now. Any questions?"

"Is there anyone else who's been... particularly problematic?" Bucciarati asked cautiously. "Anyone we should watch out for?"

Kiran thought for a moment, running through names in her mind. "Well, Berkut, of course, but you already knew about him. Narcian's just a blowhard and a coward; just ignore him and he'll run off pouting. Peri threatens to stab people a lot if she gets bored, but she'll calm down once she starts cooking or if I put her in a fight. Lon'qu has a phobia of women, so don't take it personally if he yells at you to go away, Fjorm. Henry and Tharja are both a bit crazy, but despite what they say, they're pretty harmless as long as you aren't attacking us. Karel's pretty bloodthirsty, but as long as you don't have a sword, I think you'll be fine. Plus, Lucius is around, and his presence calms him down pretty quickly. Hopefully, I can get his sister here soon... Anyways, Michalis is pretty testy, but he won't start anything as long as Maria's around. Zephiel usually just keeps to himself, so I don't think he'll cause any trouble, but I should probably bring him up just in case. And... _Valter_." Kiran grimaced at that last name.

"What's wrong with him?" Fjorm pressed.

"He's a... special case," Kiran started. "He came into contact with a cursed spear years ago and went completely insane. He wasn't exactly a model knight before, but it ramped all of his worst traits up to eleven. I'm working on a way to do something about that curse and make his behavior more... manageable, but it's slow going. Until I get something figured out, I'm keeping him in solitary and only letting him out for fights if I absolutely need him. He follows my orders because I led the charge against him and won, but I don't trust him out in the field yet."

"Why keep him around if you don't trust him?" Bucciarati questioned.

"Because it's better to have him here, where we can keep an eye on him, than with the enemy. I pick up a few high-risk targets like that, but I can usually convince them to not start anything while they're here. Valter's the only one who's too dangerous, and I'm already doing something about that," she answered. "Anything else?"

"Not at the moment, no. Thank you for your hospitality," Fjorm thanked, bowing politely. "And the apples. I believe I'll be turning in now. Good night."

"Good night," Kiran echoed as the princess turned and left. Quickly, she turned to Bucciarati and leaned in conspiratorially. "Hey, I didn't want to bring this up in front of Fjorm, but how are you holding up? Given your, uh... _prior condition_ , I've been a little concerned about your health."

"I seem to be holding up alright," he answered. "This doesn't make sense, though. No Stand ability can bring back the dead, so how did I come back?"

"I guess that's just one more thing for me to look into," Kiran shrugged. "I've been here for almost a year, and you of all people are the first other Stand user I've met. And I know I'm not dead. It might be something on this end; I've dragged a couple of people here from after their own deaths. Unintentionally, of course. This may be a bit awkward to ask, but... are you upset about coming back? This would be the second time you got pulled out of the afterlife. I'd imagine it would be... tiring."

"If I'm alive, there's a reason for it," he told her. "That's how I'm choosing to think about it. There must be something I need to do with my life. I just need to figure out what exactly that is. I don't have anywhere else to go, so I'll work with you for now. I'm deciding to trust you, so don't make me regret it."

"I got it; clear as crystal. Things are probably going to get a lot more complicated from here on..." She yawned, finally feeling the full force of the day's exhaustion. "But I'm too tired to think about anything like that right now. G'night." Arrival slithered up her arm and wound itself around the torch. The silent sentinel seemed to glow in the dim light.

An invading force from across the sea, a new ally from a destroyed kingdom, dream messages from a princess from that same kingdom, a possible alliance between their enemies, and the sudden appearance of a long-dead Stand user... Kiran just hoped she'd be able to put her thoughts to rest and get some sleep. It seemed like Askr would be counting on her now more than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanons galore! Surtr mentioned a kingdom that he conquered in three months before moving on to Nifl, so I figured there had to be something between them. I mentally call this kingdom Ginnungagap, after the void at the beginning of creation that existed between Niflheim and Muspellheim, but it doesn't actually have a name as far as I know. The map of Zenith provided in-game shows three land masses; a small one, a medium one, and a large one. I think Askr and Embla are actually on the medium-sized one, and Nifl, Múspell, and Ginnungagap are on the large one. The mountain ranges form near-perfect borders for them, and Hríd mentioned that Nifl has mountain borders. I believe Múspell is on the southern part of the continent, as Loki mentioned crossing the southern sea to reach Askr and Embla. It would also make sense for Embla to be to the south of their continent, closer to Múspell.
> 
> I am aware from personal experiences and comments from other people with personal experience that there is some truth to the stereotype that Italians move their hands a lot while talking. I've seen Mista do it a bit, and I can see Narancia as someone who does it a lot too. I doubt Fugo does, with his very restrictive childhood and all. Giorno probably doesn't because he tries to maintain that 'perfect' image of his. Bucciarati does it somewhat, and I see Abbacchio as someone who does it occasionally, but tries to hide it. Trish is probably somewhere in the middle.
> 
> With a few of the English Dub Voice Actors for Vento Aureo released, I can make a few more references! I even checked out the dub myself. Somehow, someway, Ray Chase was able to make Zipper Man, one of the worst localized Stand names ever created, sound passable. Kyle McCarley managed it too; I'm honestly impressed! And the Golden Succ was absolutely perfect! I didn't know Sean Chiplock could sing soprano! XD
> 
> Bucciarati, Alfonse, and Gaius: Ray Chase (He sounds most like Gaius to me.)  
> Narancia and Alm: Kyle McCarley
> 
> Also, general opinion on the main cast's dubbing so far:  
> Giorno: Good, could be better with a little more practice.  
> Bucciarati: Great.  
> Narancia: PERFECT!  
> Mista: Very good. I especially love the dramatic performance whenever four is involved. And the Pistols sound great too!  
> Abbacchio: Definitely sounds nice.  
> Fugo: ...Awkward. Then again, I heard he was sick initially. At least he seems to be getting a little better as time passes.  
> Trish: It fits really well. And hearing Lizzie Freeman's work as Larcei has given me high hopes for later on.  
> Diavolo: ...This is the second time Kellen Goff has played a villainous gangster targeting a young girl. He certainly has the right sound for it.
> 
> Poor Fugo; he's the only one who doesn't have an English or Japanese voice actor in this game so far. Forever alone...


End file.
